Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump all but sealed the nomination following a landslide win Tuesday night in Indiana’s primary. Triumphing only his home state of Ohio, Kasich’s attention turned towards winning on the second ballot at a contested convention.
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Kasich canceled a Wednesday morning press conference in Virginia and is scheduled to make a statement at 5 p.m. ET in Columbus, which fueled speculation that he was suspending his presidential campaign.
Trump emerged as the presumptive nominee after his massive win in Indiana.
Mr Trump has pocketed 1,047 delegates so far, with several states to go before the party’s convention in Cleveland.
Clinton, meanwhile, suffered a shock upset in IN as her Democratic rival Bernie Sanders mounted a come-from-behind victory, denying the former secretary of state a feather in her cap as she seeks to claim her party’s nomination.
Even before news of Kasich’s decision surfaced, Trump signaled a new phase of his outsider campaign that includes a search for a running mate with experience governing and outreach to one-time competitors in an effort to heal the fractured Republican Party. The numbers already made that move a longshot, and risky one at that, but the point is now moot and Trump is the new leader of the Republican Party.
“I would certainly expect to be talking to Ted”, Trump said in an interview with NBC’s “Today Show” on Wednesday. “They’re not voting for the party”. “And really, it’s something that we’re going to start on right away”.
The shame for GOP voters – even more than the ascension of the toxic Trump – is that Kasich actually offered something more forward-looking than Cruz or the other more conservative choices.
Support for Mr Trump among national Republicans soared in recent weeks to the highest level of the primary campaign.
Bill Kristol, a neoconservative and editor of the Weekly Standard, offered a scathing retort to former House Speaker Newt Gingrich’s call to back Trump.
For some, Trump’s nomination signals sure victory for Clinton, who many believe will be the Democratic nominee, in the general election.
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On Wednesday, after news emerged that Kasich was dropping out, David Axelrod, the chief strategist for President Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, praised the OH governor in a tweet.
