Flickr user Gage Skidmore
Kasich Calls It Quits, Essentially Giving Trump the Nomination
Republicans now have their nominee.
Ohio governor John Kasich is reportedly set to announce the suspension of his campaign, ceding the Republican nomination to real estate mogul Donald Trump, according to NBC’s Andrea Mitchell.
BREAKING: John Kasich to suspend his campaign for president, senior campaign adviser says - @mitchellreports pic.twitter.com/Au1WIMqTIP
— NBC Nightly News (@NBCNightlyNews) May 4, 2016
Kasich’s withdrawal comes shortly after Texas senator Ted Cruz was forced out of the race by Trump’s easy victory in the Indiana primary. The governor was a favorite of establishment Republicans in a race increasingly dominated by conservative voters’ desire for an outsider like Trump. Kasich trailed Trump and Cruz in pledged delegates, and was even behind Florida senator Marco Rubio, who dropped out of the race in early March. The governor only won a single primary, in his home state of Ohio.
With both of his rivals out of the race, Trump now has an unencumbered path to the Republican National Convention in Cleveland and a likely general election matchup against former secretary of state Hillary Clinton. Once that race kicks off, however, he will face a much more difficult race.