WASHINGTON (AP) – Ohio Gov. John Kasich says it’s too early to worry about whether Donald Trump might bump him from the first GOP presidential debate if Kasich decides to run.
With only a month to go before that first debate, Kasich (above right) says he’s not really thinking about it. He told reporters Tuesday that he’s in Washington trying to rally support for a possible bid for the GOP nomination ahead of an announcement July 21.
Kasich is scheduled to do a couple of meet-and-greet stops in Hilton Head Island and Bluffton, South Carolina, on Wednesday. It will be his fifth visit in recent months to South Carolina, the first southern primary state in 2016.
He’s then scheduled Thursday to make his first venture into Tennessee, part of the March 1 “Super Tuesday” primary slate. Kasich will talk to the Williamson Chamber of Commerce in Franklin, and meet with reporters in Nashville later.
Debate organizers at Fox News Channel, backed by the Republican National Committee, have limited the debate to the top 10 candidates in national polling. Trump (left) would qualify under those terms, while Kasich would not.
Trump has dominated the news with his description of Mexican immigrants as criminals and rapists. Republican officials have condemned those remarks.