Ohio Gov. John Kasich, the anti-Trump Republicans' last hope for a "hail Mary" into the endzone, has signaled he will drop out of the race.
Kasich's surprise change of heart leaves Donald Trump the last Republican standing.
No more debates, no more internal sniping with the RNC brass, nothing left for Trump but preparation to face the Democrats' presumptive nominee, Hillary Clinton, in what promises to be a clash of Titans from now until November.
According to a CNN report, John Kasich abruptly canceled a fundraising trip to Virginia Wednesday morning. In fact, his plane was on the runway at Columbus Airport ready to go when he abruptly informed those closest to his campaign he will announce at 5 p.m. he is dropping out of the Republican presidential race.
Kasich, who was running fourth in a 2-man race -- 900 delegates behind Trump -- improbably became the last challenger to Donald Trump, who emerged as the presumptive GOP nominee Tuesday night when Ted Cruz dropped out.
Even before winning his home state of Ohio in March, he was facing pressure to get out of the race, with no clear path to victory. His campaign never became more than a spoiler run, designed to keep Trump from getting the 1,237 delegates needed to win the nomination before a contested convention. But he was not yet ready to quit.
Said CNN, "Kasich was always a somewhat offbeat Republican contender, who laughed at himself on the trail, occasionally took positions more in line with Democrats (like expanding Medicaid in Ohio) and touted his ability to work across the aisle. He sometimes even joked that he would have done better in the Democratic primaries than in the crowded Republican field."
As Kasich exits, this is the delegate tally: Trump, 1,056, with 1,011 bound, 45 unbound and 1,237 needed to win; Cruz, 572, with 546 bound and 26 unbound; Kasich, 156, with 154 bound and 2 unbound.
Reach Nancy Smith at nsmith@sunshinestatenews.com or at 228-282-2423. Twitter: NancyLBSmith
