CLEVELAND — Ohio Gov. John Kasich spoke before the New Hampshire delegation Wednesday and promised that he will return to the state in the future in the midst of talk about a potential 2020 run.
The news came amid reports that Kasich had been offered the “most powerful vice presidential position ever” by Donald Trump’s campaign.
Throughout the event, Kasich rattled off the highlights of his time campaigning in the Granite State, including his second place finish behind Trump in the state’s primary on Feb. 9, the 106 town halls he conducted, along with his victory in Dixville Notch, where he beat Trump 3-2 in the early voting community.
“You know, Dixville Notch— that’s where we’re going to find out who’s going to be president,” Kasich joked.
Later on, Kasich vowed to return to the first-in-the-nation primary state, saying at one point that he will be coming by this fall to campaign for Sen. Kelly Ayotte, later adding that “I’ll be back” as speculation continues on about a possible second presidential run in four years.
The New York Times’ reported Wednesday that Donald Trump, Jr. asked a Kasich adviser if the governor was interested in being a powerful vice president who would be in charge of domestic and foreign policy, while Trump would be in charge of “making America great again.”
“The governor said from the minute he got in the race until that he was not going to serve as VP for anybody,” said John Weaver, Kasich’s chief strategist for his campaign and an adviser. “Look, he said in the campaign ‘words matter.’ They matter from him, he means what he says about personal integrity. What he said in New York about his speech about two difference paths that the party and country face.”
“He has significant policy and tone differences with Mr. Trump. He has not endorsed Mr. Trump, and we’re not trying to get in his way,” Weaver continued to reporters. “I told Paul Manafort two weeks ago that we were not going to throw marbles at their feet. Our delegates were going to vote with him on the floor and there were no issues. I don’t know what the big deal is.”
Notably, Corey Lewandowski, Donald Trump’s former campaign manager and the chairman of the New Hampshire GOP delegation, was not in attendance at the event.
The event was Kasich’s fifth of the week despite his absence from the Republican National Convention itself, having made appearances at various events for groups and before delegations.
