Ohio Gov. John Kasich will put an end to his presidential race on Wednesday afternoon, a senior advisor informed, as reported by the Los Angeles Times. This move leaves Donald Trump as the definite nominee of the Republican Party after Texas Sen. Ted Cruz dropped out following the billionaire’s big win in the Indiana primary Tuesday night.
Kasich’s only primary victory materialized in his home state of Ohio. Even Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who quit more than six weeks ago, had more delegates than Kasich, who for a long time believed he could win as long as voters took the time to get to know him better.
While Democrats accused Kasich of “pursuing his presidential ambitions” instead of paying attention to the needs of the people of Ohio, he always remarked his broad experience not only as the Ohio governor, but also as a member of Congress whose influence was key during the Bill Clinton administration as the Republican party sought to reach a balance budget agreement.
Unlike Trump’s rallies in large arenas, the governor’s campaign events were known for being held in town halls where he could intimately talk to reduced groups of voters about policy and finding their reason to live, with occasional hugs included. Many people who took part in those special talks found Kasich’s speech touching and came away impressed, but the governor failed to attract enough voters to pose a threat to Trump’s campaign.
Kasich waited too long to try stop Trump’s path to the nomination
BREAKING: AP sources: John Kasich to end his bid for White House; Donald Trump to become presumptive GOP nominee for president.
— The Associated Press (@AP) May 4, 2016
During most of his presidential race, Kasich ignored the Republican frontrunner and avoided public critics against him, which allowed him to resist longer than his rivals and get closer to the two-person race he wanted to reach. But Trump became even stronger and the governor failed to gain strength while many leading Republicans seeking to stop the billionaire decided to support Cruz.
It was not until the final days of Kasich’s campaign that he tried to actually threaten Trump’s presidential bid by reaching an agreement with Cruz to divide their assets among the remaining states, according to a report by the Los Angeles Times.
Both of the candidates thought they could win the nomination this summer at a contested convention if they managed to prevent Trump from obtaining a majority of the Republican delegates.
Source: Los Angeles Times