by Tom Davis
While other campaigns are forced to yet again retool their strategies, John Kasich has been able to focus on executing his long-term strategy to win the Republican nomination. In the process, more supporters have come on board and Governor Kasich’s path to the White House has become clearer. He is the only candidate who can stop Donald Trump and defeat Hillary Clinton in November.
Governor Kasich is playing cards right and focusing on a steady strategy to get him to Cleveland. An independent analysis published in the Washington Post Wednesday shows that John Kasich is likely the only candidate who can stop Donald Trump.
“Then there is the matter of Ohio. Ohio is winner-take-all, as I mentioned above, but is made more complicated for Trump because Kasich, the Republican governor of the state, is still in the race. A Quinnipiac University poll out Tuesday morning shows Trump at 31 percent in the state with Kasich close behind at 26 percent. It’s not clear whether Kasich can beat Trump in the Buckeye State or if he will be able to stay in the race all the way until March 15 when Ohio voters go to the polls. But, if Kasich could beat Trump in Ohio, you subtract 66 delegates from Trump’s 1,246 — leaving him at 1,180, and just short of the nomination.”
Recent polls show Governor Kasich tied with Donald Trump in Ohio and defeating him by a wide-margin in a head-to-head matchup in Ohio. At the same time, the Quinnipiac University poll of Ohio voters shows John Kasich leading Hillary Clinton by a whopping 17 points. No Republican has ever won the White House without winning Ohio. Barack Obama carried the state in 2008 and 2012. Ohio’s favorite son John Kasich is leading Hillary Clinton by 17 points already in November. If Republicans want to nominate a candidate who can win the White House, the only choice is John Kasich.
Governor Kasich has committed to a ground game in Virginia and has offices in Richmond, Virginia Beach and Fairfax. He has been actively talking to Virginia voters since his first town hall last October and he was one of the first candidates to participate in Regent University’s Presidential Series with Rev. M.G. “Pat” Roberston. Unlike others, Kasich isn’t scrambling to show up at the “eleventh hour” because of pressure he is receiving to visit our state at the last minute.
Now that Marco Rubio is deciding to visit Virginia, he is holding a town hall in Roanoke because he is not ready to speak freely to the voters, marking his inability to speak without rehearsed talking points. Eighteen years in Congress and two terms as Governor of the seventh largest state has best qualified and prepared John Kasich to be Commander-in-Chief. There isn’t a training manual waiting in the Oval Office, experience matters most in our next Commander in Chief.
While the mainstream media tried to anoint Marco Rubio as the establishment candidate, John Kasich’s path is crystalizing and growing stronger. Kasich has racked up the endorsements this week of former and current Congressmen, Governors, White House Cabinet heads and major investors. He has spent his money and resources wisely in states where he can perform well. He has strong organizations in upcoming states like Vermont, Massachusetts, Vermont, Virginia, Mississippi, and Michigan and is on television in key states. He is employing the same strategy in these states as he did in New Hampshire, where he finished in a strong second place.
After his vaunted 3-2-1 strategy fell short, after spending $12 million in South Carolina to pick up zero delegates and after playing up his Nevada roots and outspending all the other candidates to finish 22 points behind Donald Trump, Marco Rubio is now on to Plan D and focusing to carry winner take all states like Ohio and Florida on March 15th.
The problem for Rubio is that unlike John Kasich, who is tied for the lead in winner-take-all Ohio and surges to a 17-point lead in a head-to-head match up with Trump, Rubio lags far behind in Florida. In the Florida Quinnipiac poll, Rubio was getting beat by Trump 44-28. He is down 16 percentage points in his home state. Rubio has no chance to overcome that and beat Donald Trump in Florida’s winner take all.
It’s clear that more and more Republicans who are looking for an alternative to Donald Trump and a candidate who can win the White House recognize that John Kasich is the only choice.
So come one, come all. Now is the time to help elect John Kasich as the Republican nominee and defeat Hillary Clinton in November.
Tom Davis is a former Congressman from Virginia’s 11th District. He also served as Chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.
