CLEVELAND — Ohio Gov. John Kasich’s allies flocked to Cleveland this week, not to support their current Republican nominee, but to lick their wounds and brace themselves for an election they aren’t prepared for.
“It’s a tough year now,” a former Kasich campaign lawyer told the Washington Examiner on Tuesday while attending a gathering for friends of the Ohio governor on Tuesday, prior to his speech at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. “From my perspective, I see him as the integrity candidate. It’s tough to know who to chose in November, but I may write in Kasich. I think [Kasich supporters] are looking at both parties. ”
The former Republican presidential candidate refuses to participate in Donald Trump’s convention, but has been holding multiple events every day in Cleveland as his party nominated a candidate he vehemently opposes.
Top campaign aide Paul Manafort accused Kasich of “embarrassing the party” and is doing “a dumb, dumb, dumb thing” by refusing to endorse the nominee.
But former supporters applaud Kasich for sticking to his principles.
“He’s not interested in anything other than what’s best for the party,” another Kasich supporter in attendance explained. “I don’t think he’s trying to be the voice of the Never Trump. He was never trying to be that. If you saw the Ohio delegates, they were all his, they didn’t walk off the floor during [the roll call for on Monday].”
Looking forward to the future, many supporters said they don’t know where to turn or who to vote for in November, as Kasich’s stances differ so drastically from both Trump and Hillary Clinton’s.
When asked how he’d vote come November, a Pennsylvania Republican and Kasich supporter shrugged and said, “In the privacy of the voting booth I will scroll down the ballot.”
Former Kasich campaign volunteer Tom Volini said he will probably end up voting for Clinton in November, even though he knows most other Kasich supporters won’t do the same. He explained, “It makes me feel disgusted to see Trump in there … I think the Republican Party will have great difficulty after this election. Maybe it’s a healthy thing, maybe they need shaking.”
During his remarks at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Kasich bid farewell to his supporters and thanked the over 1,800 present for sticking by his side throughout the campaign, stating, “It is from this higher path that we are offered the greater view. Our strength resides within ourselves. The spirit of our country rests in us.”
A few hours prior as he spoke to supporters at a private reception in the 20th floor offices of a swanky Cleveland law firm overlooking Lake Erie, the former candidate confided he was glad to be out of the race but concerned about the future of the Republican Party. He encouraged his supporters to keep carrying on his message and stand by their principles.
But even as the party nominated Trump, Ohioans remain intensely loyal to Kasich. As Republicans led off the nominating vote on Tuesday night, the leader of the state delegation pronounced that they “proudly cast all 66 votes for Gov. John Kasich!”
Ohio’s winner-take-all primary was Kasich’s only win of the campaign.
