That's a good question. I'm not entirely sure why John Kasich is still in the race. As a Ted Cruz supporter, he's really starting to annoy me. All that he's doing is taking away valuable votes that could be going to Senator Cruz. Mr. Kasich is essentially enabling Donald Trump to be the Republican nominee. Which would be disastrous in my opinion. I have a feeling that the two have cut a deal in order to prevent Cruz from rising.
Everyone knows a brokered convention is possible. Not just possible, but likely, as of right now. It is unlikely the man with the spray can tan will get the necessary delegate count to nail down the nomination. And, yes, it is theoretically possible Kasich could get the nomination. That's not the point. If the RINO establishment picks moderate candidate like Kasich who won (as of this writing) only a single state that happens to be his own, it game over. The political fallout from such a decision would be enormous; Trump would almost certainly make a third party run, his base would bolt, those independents picked up by Trump wouldn't likely vote at all, and the Dems would win in a landslide victory. Trump is egotistical, rich, and, frankly, crazy enough to run third ticket. Also, remember, McCain and Romney both lost in large part because many GOP votes simply stayed home. After such shenanigans, you bet a lot more would opt to just not vote yet again.
I agree with most of that, close to all of that. But that is not the question we are answering. The question is ´why is Kasich still running´ and my answer is that Kasich thinks, and I also believe that he can and probably will get the nomination. We are not talking about the general election. The problem for the Republicans is that there is no right answer in an open convention. Trump is a nightmare is would probably cause the Rs to lose the senate. Cruz isn´t bad, but is a pure lose in the general election and will have trouble getting to even 270 delegates. Kasich would allow the Rs to keep the senate and if he picked a VP from a different swing state ( Rubio before meltdown would have been perfect) he can expand the map. He gets Ohio and he brings Wisconsin and Michigan into play, and maybe PA. I agree with you though, he needs to get closer in the delegate count to make it palatable. But here is the thing.. any state that Cruz is strong in is going to vote anti-Hillary. Kasich will win the deep south easily. And while Hillary has moved herself more liberal because of Bernie, Kasich can stay in the middle and play to the rust belt. If he flips Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin, he wins the general.
Kasich never really had a chance. Any one that is remotely considered to be a moderate had zero chance of winning the Republican nominee. Kasich could never compete with guys like Cruz or Rubio. Then you throw in Trump's surprise run and he really never had a chance.
Yep, been saying this all along. The Republican party has created a self-fulfilling prophecy with the order in which they do states. Moderates can no longer win the nomination because so many of the early primary elections are in the south, so for the first month moderates get no media coverage and have to ´cheer´ when they come in 3rd place. The media laughed about it, but the fact that Rubio considered a 3rd in Iowa a victory. It is why guys like Cruz, Huckabee and Santorum who are fringe candidates are seen as ´viable´ because they win the southern states early while moderates are giving victory speeches for 3rd place. The only way moderates can win is if they sell their soul to Jerry Falwell and quote 2 Corinthians.
Around the time of the convention, I couldn't help but remember this spectacularly brainless prognostication. Kasich didn't even show at said convention, let alone was the nominee.
