ARLINGTON, Va. — While Ohio Gov. John Kasich appears to have no chance of winning Virginia Tuesday night, he’s hoping to score in the double digits when it comes to state delegates, thanks mostly to liberal-leaning districts in the northern part of the state, just outside Washington, D.C.
“Look, Super Tuesday is not going to be all that friendly to us except maybe Massachusetts and Vermont,” former Missouri Congressman Tom Coleman told the Washington Examiner at a Kasich event in Northern Virginia just a few steps away from a polling site.
The Kasich campaign has focused on Virginia’s 8th and 11th districts, both liberal-leaning districts close to the Washington D.C., border that are expected to vote for Hillary Clinton. In February, the campaign set up a field office in Alexandria, Va., another liberal-leaning area near the D.C. border. When the governor has appeared in the state in recent weeks, he’s focused almost exclusively on the Northern precincts.
“The Northern Virginia area is definitely more amenable to his message then the South. There’s also a large percentage of Virginia’s vote here,” Kasich senior policy strategist Kerry Knotts explained.
Going forward, Kasich will focus on northern states as soon as the Super Tuesday primary is over. He has repeatedly said that if he can’t carry Ohio he will exit the race. Congressman Coleman explained that if Rubio doesn’t carry Florida and Kasich wins Ohio, “maybe we are the last man standing.”
In this war of attrition, Kasich expects the 595 delegates up for grabs on Super Tuesday to neither hurt nor help his candidacy.
“I mean, I think we’ll get some delegates here who knows?” Kasich told the press after concluding his town hall. “Super Tuesday was never anything critical in our game plan.”
Disclosure: A family member of the author is an adviser to the Kasich campaign.
