Ohio Gov. John Kasich has hired a new senior finance advisor to join his presidential campaign despite mounting pressure from Republican heavyweights for him to end his White House bid.
Brian Haley, who served as deputy finance director for 2008 Republican nominee Sen. John McCain, will lead Kasich’s finance leadership team “as the campaign enters the final phase of the primary calendar and ramps up it’s post-primary strategy,” Kasich’s team wrote in a statement released Monday.
“Brian is one of the best finance advisors in the country, and we are very excited to have him join the campaign,” said John Weaver, Kasich’s senior strategist.
He added, “As our campaign continues to grow financially and prepares both for the GOP convention and to be the nominee, Brian is the perfect leader to help take our efforts to the next level.”
The new hire comes as the Kasich campaign struggles to compete with Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and GOP front-runner Donald Trump in the behind-the-scenes battle for delegates, and faces calls for him and Cruz to team up or drop out from party elders like 2012 Republican nominee Mitt Romney.
The two-term Ohio governor currently trails Trump by exactly 600 delegates and his rapidly losing the interest of anti-Trump delegates who Cruz’s team hopes to gain on a second ballot, if Republicans face a contested convention.
Kasich also trails Trump by slightly more than 30 percentage points in New York, which will hold its Republican primary on Tuesday.
