Ohio Gov. John Kasich has officially suspended his campaign for president.
He confirmed the news during a press conference Wednesday evening.
Kasich canceled a Wednesday morning press conference in Virginia which fueled speculation that he was suspending his presidential campaign.
Even after U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz dropped out Tuesday, Kasich and his campaign insisted that he would stay in the race until someone captures the 1,237 delegates required to clinch the Republican nomination at the convention in Cleveland.
Kasich was the last anti-Trump standing in the GOP primary, even though he had virtually no chance of stopping him and staying in the race has already made Kasich the butt of jokes.
Late-night talk show host Stephen Colbert unleashed biting criticism of Kasich in a three-minute segment late Tuesday, noting that Kasich trails U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida in the delegate count even though Rubio dropped out five weeks ago.
“It’s like the old saying, ‘Quitters never win, but they still beat John Kasich,’” Colbert said with a smirk. He mocked Kasich’s optimistic ads as fantasy and Colbert showed his own spoof ad where Barack Obama resigns early to make way for Kasich so that Kasich could balance the budget, defeat ISIS and throw — and catch — the winning pass in the Super Bowl.
Kyle Kondik, managing editor of Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics, said, “Kasich just has not performed well enough to be taken seriously as a viable contender. That’s been true for months.”
About the Author
