There was no love lost during the presidential race between President Trump and Republican Ohio Gov. John Kasich. Kasich refused to attend Trump’s convention, which he had taken great pains to bring to his own state. And on the day Trump won, Kasich was preparing an “I told you so” speech, fully expecting Trump to lose, just like everyone else.
Since Trump’s victory, the proxy war between the two men has been raging. Kasich lost the first battle earlier this month, when Trump’s favored pick for state party chair defeated Kasich’s.
The next big battle could be in the 2018 GOP primary for governor. According to a memo released last week, Kasich is getting in behind Attorney General Mike DeWine. If Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor were to run, Trump might help her — she was reportedly instrumental in helping Trump win that first battle over the party chairmanship.
A poll of 800 Ohio Republican voters by the conservative non-profit American Freedom Builders, released this evening, suggests that DeWine would begin a primary with a large lead. He clocks in at 47 percent support among Republican voters in a four-way race, with Taylor getting only 10 percent and very low on name recognition. DeWine would also start with a 29-point lead in a head-to-head race against Secretary of State Jon Husted.
DeWine’s huge advantage in name recognition comes as no surprise because he’s been around for so long. After losing his U.S. Senate seat in 2006, he made a comeback as attorney general. From that office, he rebuilt his reputation with a massive initiative to test old rape kits from all over the state, which led to convictions in 136 cases dating back to the 1990s.
