Yes, John Kasich is still running for president — in 2020
A Public Policy Polling survey two weeks ago showed that Kasich has 50 percent support among Ohio voters, a slight dip from where he was this spring. The makeup of
According to several knowledgeable sources, Weaver, despite his baggage, remains the odds-on favorite to helm a future Kasich presidential bid. "You either leave these things closer or further apart, and they left closer," said Matt David, who served as the chief strategist for the pro-Kasich Super PAC, New Day for America. Weaver, who is based in Texas, remains on the payroll and is regularly spotted around Columbus. He effectively now serves as the manager of Kasich's "Good Housekeeping" brand.
The two have formed a kind of good-cop, bad-cop duo when it comes to Trump, with the consultant taking a much more strident and aggressive tone toward the Republican nominee, especially on Twitter. Kasich has tried to strike a balance, keeping Trump at arm's length while trying to avoid getting into an arm wrestle.
In a rare Sunday morning talk-show appearance on CNN's "State of the Union," Kasich went perhaps his furthest in publicly distancing himself from his party's nominee. and yet strained not to avoid a new spat with the blustery billionaire. When asked, for example, about Trump's initial obstinance in supporting the re-election bids of Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan, and Senators John McCain and Kelly Ayotte, Kasich described it as "a little bizarre" — a clear understatement.
Asked about the prospects of eventually endorsing Trump, Kasich suggested it was quite unlikely, but didn't definitively rule it out: "There's so much water over the dam now, it's become increasingly difficult," he said. "But I want, you know, unifying."
Speaking to reporters in Chicago on Thursday, Kirk, who has previously declared Trump "too bigoted and racist" to be president, joked that he and Kasich were both suffering from a form of PTSD: "Post-Trump Traumatic Disorder." Kasich, however, was quick to interject: "Make sure to note that he said it," the governor told reporters. "I don't want to have to answer calls for the next week."
But Trump is making a mutual nonaggression pact very difficult.
During a recent appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press," Trump floated the idea that he could launch a $10 million anti-Kasich super PAC, if he fails to win the presidency.
On Sunday, Kasich confirmed to CNN a New York Times report that Donald Trump Jr., the nominee's son, reached out prior to the convention, offering Kasich the running-mate slot and the promise of being in charge of all policy decisions in a Trump administration. (The Trump campaign has subsequently denied this, but several Kasich sources confirmed the account to CNBC.com.
While communications have largely ceased between the camps, one source close to Kasich told CNBC.com that Trump surrogates Ben Carson and Newt Gingrich have, in recent weeks, made overtures to the governor in an effort to thaw relations. Carson's spokesman, Armstrong Williams, confirmed to CNBC.com that Carson left a message on Kasich's cell phone late last week, offering himself as a bridge; Kasich, as of Sunday night, had not responded.
For now, the Ohio governor is putting most of his attention in the re-election bid of his home-state senator, Rob Portman, who endorsed Kasich's presidential campaign right before the New Hampshire primary. Kasich aides are now predicting a scenario where Trump loses the presidency, the GOP loses seats in the Senate, but Portman prevails.
"I think it would be further proof that Kasich is most popular politician in every poll you see," said Scott Blake, a longtime Kasich aide who served as regional political director of his presidential campaign.
"We're extremely fortunate to have Governor John Kasich's support and he is hands down our most valuable surrogate," Portman's campaign spokesperson, Michawn Rich, said in a statement.
But insiders also express deep concern about a scenario where Ohio ends up handing Clinton the presidency, and Kasich is subsequently blamed for it.
In any event, aides insist Kasich does not have his finger in the political winds, and that his machinations are based purely on what he thinks is right for his party and the country. Moreover, as Weaver says, "Anybody who is trying to game-plan out what is going to happen tomorrow, much less what is happening in 2020, is crazy."