“So much for John Kasich’s promise to give rival Texas Sen. Ted Cruz ‘a clear path in Indiana,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The Ohio governor cancelled some public events after striking a deal with Mr. Cruz to cede certain states to each other, but Mr. Kasich still met privately Tuesday in Indianapolis with about two dozen convention delegates and other prominent Republicans. He also attended two fundraisers.”
John Kasich “isn’t featured in Oregon’s voters’ pamphlet for the May primary election — an embarrassing blunder for any major campaign,” the Register-Guard reports.
“It’s up to candidates to get their photos and statements into the pamphlet, which is one of the most cost-effective political advertising tools in the state. Each Oregon household — roughly 1.5 million in total — gets a free copy of the pamphlet. Presidential candidates pay $3,500 to put their half-page statement in the pamphlet, or else submit 500 supporters’ signatures and get their statement included for free.”
“Kasich’s failure may throw a wrench in a coordinated strategy announced publicly Sunday night… Ironically, the Cruz campaign got its presidential statement included in Oregon’s voter pamphlet.”
“I’m not out to stop Donald Trump. I’m out to stop Hillary Clinton. We know this: Donald Trump has zero chance of being able to beat Hillary Clinton.”
— Gov. John Kasich, quoted by The Hill.
Gov. John Kasich “said that Indiana’s voters should still back him, despite an alliance with Ted Cruz to clear the way for the senator in the state’s Republican primary,” The Hill reports.
Said Kasich: “I’ve never told them not to vote for me. They ought to vote for me.”
For members: Why the Cruz-Kasich Alliance Won’t Work
John Fund: “The best delegate trackers out there still think it likely that Donald Trump will fall short of the 1,237 delegates he needs to secure the GOP nomination on the first ballot.”
“But there’s one man who can cut a deal and instantly make Trump the de facto nominee: Ohio governor John Kasich. He would then probably be responsible for setting in motion devastating GOP losses in November of not only the White House but also control of the U.S. Senate.”
For members: How Trump’s Veep Pick Could Help Him Win the Nomination
John Kasich said his campaign is looking at potential running mates in case he secures the nomination, The Hill reports.
Said Kasich: “Well, we have some old hands now who are beginning to do that. You know, these things come quickly. And you don’t want to have yourself in a position where you have to pick somebody out of a hat. So I have some skilled hands who are beginning now to take a look and figure out who would really fit. And, you know, it’s just starting, so there isn’t a lot to report.”
“If you don’t have ideas, you got nothing, and frankly my Republican Party doesn’t like ideas. They want to be negative against things.”
— Gov. John Kasich, in a Washington Post interview.
New York Times: “As Mr. Cruz looks beyond Wisconsin, where he is favored to defeat Donald J. Trump on Tuesday, his frustrations with Mr. Kasich have increasingly been laid bare. With activists and operatives opposed to Mr. Trump fanning out across the electoral map in a scramble to deny him the nomination, Mr. Cruz’s team has argued that it is Mr. Kasich’s ‘quixotic’ bid for the White House that will prove the biggest boon to Mr. Trump in the states to come.”
“On Monday, Mr. Cruz amplified calls for Mr. Kasich to step aside and predicted that ‘the people would quite rightly revolt’ if party leaders tried to elevate anyone other than Mr. Cruz or Mr. Trump at a contested convention in July.”
“Donald Trump is pushing rival John Kasich to get out of the White House race, arguing that the Ohio governor shouldn’t be allowed to collect future delegates because the nomination is already beyond his grasp,” the AP reports.
“Trying hard to right himself after a difficult week, Trump said it was unfair for Kasich, the winner of only his home state’s primary, to continue campaigning. He suggested that Kasich, who has pledged to make it to the summer convention, follow the lead of former candidates Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush – and quit.”
Said Trump: “If I didn’t have Kasich, I automatically win.”
Gov. John Kasich sees the prospect of a contested Republican National Convention as “so cool,” contending he’d be a strong pick if there were an open contest this summer in Cleveland, Politico reports.
Said Kasich: “It’s going to be so much fun.”
A super PAC aligned with Gov. John Kasich has put out a tough new attack ad featuring Sen. Ted Cruz.
Ted Cruz said that “if there were a contested Republican convention, an obscure rule adopted at the 2012 GOP convention would block John Kasich from competing in a floor fight for the GOP presidential nomination,” Politico reports.
“The rule, drafted and imposed by forces loyal to Mitt Romney, requires that any candidate eligible for the nomination win a majority of delegates from at least eight states or U.S. territories. Kasich is unlikely to approach that threshold ahead of the convention.”
Said Cruz “It’s against the rules for Kasich to be on the ballot. Only two candidates meet that threshold.”
“In a storyline that could be ripped from a House of Cards script, John Kasich’s campaign is looking to coordinate behind the scenes with Ted Cruz’s in a mutual effort to deny Donald Trump enough delegates to win the Republican presidential nomination. They even tried to get 2012 nominee Mitt Romney to help broker it,” CNN reports.
“The only problem for team Kasich is that Team Cruz is not interested.”
A top strategist for Gov. John Kasich accused Sen. Ted Cruz’s campaign of being “disingenuous” about discussions between the two GOP rivals over how best to deny Donald Trump the required 1,237 delegates need to win the Republican presidential nomination, Politico reports.
“Cruz has questioned Kasich’s motivations for staying in the race, accusing him of playing the role of “spoiler” because it is mathematically impossible for the Ohio governor to win the nomination outright… The Kasich campaign, meanwhile, is open about its intention to duke it out at the convention in Cleveland, and insists that upcoming contests like Pennsylvania make for favorable terrain.”
“Republicans desperate to stop Donald Trump from capturing the presidential nomination increased the pressure Wednesday on Gov. John Kasich to quit the race, with Jeb Bush joining the growing number of party figures throwing their weight behind Sen. Ted Cruz,” the New York Times reports.
“Mr. Kasich refused, saying that he, not the Texas senator, was the best option to stop Mr. Trump. But his argument was undercut by his dismal showings Tuesday in Utah and Arizona, where he won no delegates — as well as by the surprise endorsement Wednesday morning by Mr. Bush of Mr. Cruz.”
Stuart Rothenberg: “Kasich’s campaign has bordered on the bizarre. He has survived for two reasons: First, he has refused to get out, no matter how badly he has done. And second, he has been so irrelevant that nobody attacked him, leaving him generally unscathed in a race where there is plenty of blood on the floor.”
“Political junkies and history buffs have spent weeks dreaming about the unlikeliest possible scenarios that could determine the 2016 election: contested conventions, third-party bids, a cross-party ticket. But here’s one prospect they probably haven’t thought of: There’s a legally sound scenario in which John Kasich could single-handedly pick the next U.S. president. And it’s all thanks to a federal law that’s been on the books since 1887,” Politico reports.
“It’s a far-fetched outcome, to be sure, but here’s how that could happen—and why Congress should consider revising that 130-year-old law.”
“When he says that there could be riots, that’s inappropriate. While we have our differences and disagreements, we’re Americans. Americans don’t say, ‘Let’s take to the streets and have violence.'”
— Gov. John Kasich, quoted by The Hill, on Donald Trump warning of violence at the Republican National Convention.
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.