John Kasich announced the end of his bid for presidency on Wednesday, just one day after Ted Cruz dropped out of the Republican race. Indiana was won by Donald Trump, who held a significant lead over Cruz and an even bigger lead over Kasich, who has remained in the race with no mathematical means of winning the nomination.
Kasich announced his departure from the race, and he remained optimistic about his political future.
Kasich held the announcement in Columbus, Ohio and stated, “The country needs to shift power, money and influence from the government to the people.” The candidate only won one state along the way, his home state of Ohio. Kasich earned 153 delegates along the way, coming in fourth in the contest behind Marco Rubio, who ended his presidential bid in March.
Tuesday night, Kasich reaffirmed that he would keep fighting to remain in the race, but his optimism waned following the suspension of the Cruz campaign.
Trump stated that “John’s doing the right thing” in reference to him dropping out of the race. The presumptive Republican nominee has further stated that he would consider Kasich as a running mate in the general election. Kasich has asserted that he did not run to become vice president. Trump announced that he will pick a VP by the end of next week.