Florida, the largest swing state on the electoral map, will be on center stage next week as Democrats and Republicans vote in the presidential primaries. In the coming days, Sunshine State News will present “What Candidate Have at Stake in Florida,” a look at what the remaining candidates have on the line in next Tuesday’s primary.
The series now turns to the Republican presidential hopefuls, starting with John Kasich. We hope readers join us as we look at “What Candidates Have at Stake in Florida” as the presidential candidates make their last pushes before the primary.
Of all the presidential candidates, John Kasich has the least at stake in the Sunshine State.
The Ohio governor is letting it all ride in the Buckeye State which, like Florida, holds its primary on Tuesday.
Kasich has had an odd campaign. Mostly under the radar in the last months of 2015, Kasich basically ignored Iowa and South Carolina to campaign hard in New Hampshire. Avoiding the foodfights but also the limelight, Kasich placed second in the Granite State, getting a bit of attention and showcasing his often positive message.
But since then, Kasich hasn’t exactly set the world on fire, but he did place second behind Donald Trump in Massachusetts. Earlier this week, Kasich was narrowly beaten out by Ted Cruz for second in Michigan but they ended up tied in terms of delegates they reeled in from the Wolverine State.
Kasich simply hasn’t bothered with Florida. He’s in single digits in most of the polls and is in distant fourth place behind the rest of the candidates. With Florida being winner-take-all, Kasich’s team recognizes they have no chance of reeling in all 99 delegates on the line on Tuesday night and have skipped the Sunshine State to focus on trying to beat Trump in Ohio.
Despite that, Kasich does have at least a little on the line in Florida. Based on the constant stream of memos produced by John Weaver, the longtime John McCain strategist who is now tied to the Ohio governor, Kasich’s team sees Marco Rubio as blocking their path to the nomination. With Rubio fighting for his political life against Trump to defend his home state, Kasich would love to see the Florida Republican get knocked out of the race. That would certainly help Kasich’s bid going forward.
But, of course, for that to happen, Kasich has to win Ohio and have Rubio stumble in Florida. That being the case, Kasich will be keep his eyes on the Sunshine State, even if he isn’t particularly focused on it.
Based on the polls, Kasich will pull in the single digits and end up a distant fourth behind the other candidates. Regardless of what happens in Florida, the Sunshine State is small potatoes for Kasich on Tuesday when he has it all riding on Ohio.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
