"John Kasich Drops Out of Presidential Race"

NYT:  Gov. John Kasich of Ohio, a moderate voice who tried to portray himself as the adult in the Republican primary field but failed to win any state but his own, is ending his long-shot quest for the presidency on Wednesday, according to two people briefed on his decision.

Mr. Kasich’s departure, a day after Donald J. Trump’s victory in the Indiana primary, leaves Mr. Trump as the only candidate remaining in the Republican race. His closest challenger, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, dropped out Tuesday night.

A conventional candidate in an unconventional race, Mr. Kasich outlasted the other governors in the Republican field. But his longevity was largely a testament to his unbending refusal to drop out long after it became clear that voters were not flocking to his campaign.

"Kasich predicts open convention: 'It’s going to be so much fun'"

"Kasich said he expects to continue gaining momentum and picking up delegates until the convention.

Kasich then touted his poll numbers in head-to-head match-ups against Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton, saying he beats Clinton in "virtually every poll."

"I'm the only one that does it on the Republican side," he said.

He also talked about his record on job growth, adding he has international foreign policy knowledge and the experience to be a competitive candidate."

http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/275019-kasich-on-contested-convention-i-think-im-going-to-be-the

"Dearborn, top Arab-American U.S. city, just voted for Donald Trump, Jewish candidate Bernie Sanders"

The Week: The Michigan electorate was full of surprises on Tuesday. The biggest was Sen. Bernie Sanders' upset win over Hillary Clinton, but there were also some interesting results from the city of Dearborn, the "Arab capital of North America," with about 41 percent of the city claiming Arab ancestry. Dearborn houses the Arab American National Museum and several large mosques — unlike the Chaldean Christian Arab community in nearby Sterling Heights, "the Dearborn community is overwhelmingly Muslim," says Michigan Radio. And Dearborn Republicans voted for Donald Trump, the candidate pledging to close U.S. borders to Muslims, 39 percent to 30 percent for nearest competitor John Kasich.

Dearborn Democrats, meanwhile, picked Sanders, 59 percent to 39 percent for Clinton.

Kasich holding out for Veep?

Excerpt:

"Kasich’s presence in the race almost certainly damaged Rubio on Tuesday night. As of late Tuesday, Kasich took 9.4% of the vote in Virginia — a state where Rubio likely lost by five points or less. Kasich also took 18% of the vote in Massachusetts; the same as Rubio.

The Florida senator’s backers are livid that the Kasich’s showing in Virginia may have kept their candidate from winning and will continue to hurt them in upcoming primaries; Kasich has indicated he will not drop out until after Ohio, and may be aiming to stay in as long as it takes to be a Trump alternative."

http://www.buzzfeed.com/tariniparti/establishment-republicans-are-furious-with-john-kasich#.leb2Mj4b2q

"Kasich signs Ohio bill diverting Planned Parenthood funding"

AP: Gov. John Kasich signed legislation Sunday to strip government money from PlannedParenthood in Ohio, a day after the Republican presidential contender’s weak performance in his party’s South Carolina primary.

The expected action came despite calls for a veto by some legislative Democrats and several newspaper editorials.  The governor did not sign the bill in public. His office made the announcement in a statement.

The legislation targets the roughly $1.3 million in funding that Planned Parenthood receives through Ohio’s health department.

Rumors starting to circulate that Kasich thinks staying in gets him Trump veep pick by holding back others.

— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) February 21, 2016

Gov. Kasich is Running for President

 

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