New York Gov. George Pataki will stump for John Kasich in New York and elsewhere, Kasich said Sunday, trumpeting Pataki’s support as a jolt of momentum for his campaign ahead of the state’s primary Tuesday.
Kasich said he is “honored” to have the help of the three-term governor, who dropped out of the 2016 presidential race last year. Kasich, Ohio’s govenor, called Pataki a “class act” and a “great leader.”
“He’s up there in the pantheon of the great leaders of the state of New York,” Kasich told New York’s AM 970 host John Catsimatidis on Sunday. “To me, it’s a very consequential thing he did, and I feel very good about it, and I don’t have any doubts it’s going to give us a little bit of momentum.”
He added that he expects his campaign to snag some delegates out of New York, where polls show him trailing businessman Donald Trump.
Pataki endorsed Kasich on Thursday, making him the first 2016 Republican presidential candidate dropouts to back Kasich. Kasich so far has only won one voting contest, in his home state of Ohio. He trails remaining opponents Trump and Ted Cruz by hundreds of delegates.
Pataki will campaign with the Ohio governor all around the country, Kasich said.
