Former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Almond endorsed Ohio Gov. John Kasich for president on Thursday.
“Like the rest of the nation, Rhode Islanders are looking for a leader who can deliver,” Almond said in a statement shared by the Kasich campaign. “From balancing the budget in Congress to helping Ohioans rebuild their economy and create over 417,000 new private sector jobs, John Kasich has an unrivaled record of results. As poll after poll demonstrates, he is the only Republican candidate who can unite the party and defeat Hillary Clinton in the fall. I’m proud to stand with him and his team.”
Almond, 79, governed Rhode Island from 1995 to 2003 and served as a U.S. attorney for more than 20 years. Kasich said he was ‘honored’ by Almond’s support and noted the governor’s tremendous credibility in Rhode Island.
Polling of the Rhode Island primary has been scant thus far, but Donald Trump maintained a sizable 18 percentage point lead over the Republican field in a February survey. The February poll showed Florida Sen. Marco Rubio leading Kasich by 11 percentage points, but the senator has since dropped out and his supporters may be more likely to back the Ohio governor than Trump.
The Rhode Island primary will take place on April 26.
