I don't believe Ted Cruz can win in the fall either, but I don't think this is going to sit so well with the Republican primary voters who came out to vote for him in much greater numbers than John Kasich.
Here's Kasich on this Sunday's Meet the Press, explaining to host Chuck Todd why he has no intention of dropping out of the presidential primary race prior to their convention, and telling him that maybe Ted Cruz is the one that should drop out. (Transcript via NBC News):
CHUCK TODD: But you know what? In order for you to get the nomination, you have acknowledged, you have to win it at the convention. You cannot win it via the primary process anymore. Given that, why are you in Utah? And I ask that because if you didn't campaign in Utah and Ted Cruz won 50% of the vote, then you denied Donald Trump any delegates, which actually helps your path to getting to Cleveland in a contested convention.
GOV. JOHN KASICH: Hey, Chuck. Look, I'm in Utah. You know why? Because I'm running for present and because I want people to understand what is a good positive message with a record of accomplishment.
CHUCK TODD: But do you want to win?
GOV. JOHN KASICH: Yeah, but Chuck, I'm going to compete across the country and tell people who I am and let the chips fall where they may. And let me also tell you, no one-- no one is going to that convention with enough delegates. I will have more delegates moving in there that will give me momentum.
And then the delegates are going to decide who can win in the fall. Because the other guys can't win in the fall. Hillary will be president. And secondly, I've got the record, the experience, and the vision and the ability to bring people together to be a good president. That's why I'm doing this--
CHUCK TODD: We saw, well, we saw the evidence though of what happens when there's three people in and two anti-Trump candidates split the vote. Missouri and Illinois. Donald Trump cleaned up on delegates. If you go about this in New York and Pennsylvania and some of these other states, you and Cruz could end up handing more delegates to Trump inadvertently.
GOV. JOHN KASICH: Well, maybe Ted ought to get out because he can't win in the fall. And maybe these people that are hot on that ought to tell him to do it. You know, they tried to tell me to get out of the race how many times, Chuck?
CHUCK TODD: You're right. Quite a few--
GOV. JOHN KASICH: And now they should be thanking me for staying in. Because if Trump did win Ohio, it would be over. Look. Let me just tell you, Chuck, I'm doing this and sacrificing time from my family and all the people that are working for me, because we believe in a philosophy of raising this country.
I have a record of accomplishment, a record of bringing people together, a vision for the future of this country. And guess what? In the grassroots, people are getting it. Now, they didn't get it because, frankly, you put me on the tube a lot. But Trump got, $1.8 billion worth of free media. I got none. Okay? So now people are start--
CHUCK TODD: But not all of his free media was very positive--
GOV. JOHN KASICH: People are starting to hear me, and we're starting to rise. Look at what our numbers are.
CHUCK TODD: If you thought your candidacy were helping Trump, not hurting him, would you get out?
GOV. JOHN KASICH: Chuck, I'm running for president. This isn't a parlor game of who gets this or who gets that.
CHUCK TODD: But you're stuck with a parlor game--
GOV. JOHN KASICH: I believe-- I want to tell you--
CHUCK TODD: But you're stuck having to play a parlor game because your only path-- is the convention--
GOV. JOHN KASICH: No, Chuck. How's that--
CHUCK TODD: That's the ultimate parlor game.
GOV. JOHN KASICH: I am not playing a parlor game. The convention is an extension of the process of nominating somebody. I was there in '76 when Reagan challenged the sitting president. They didn't like him doing it either. But you know what? His vision, his message mattered. I believe my vision of how you grow jobs and grow wages and also, by the way, of giving people a sense that their lives matter. That they can change the world in which they live. I consider this to be, like, really important.
I consider it important for people to hear this. And it's not just me. It's not about me. This is about the team of people who say every day, "You just keep going, and you keep fighting." And we'll go as far as we can. And, listen. Nobody's going to that convention with enough delegates. And at the end, do you know why I'll get picked? Because I can win in the fall. And secondly, because I have the experience and the record to lead this country. You know, and Chuck, if I didn't think that, I wouldn't be running.
The infighting is only going to get uglier the closer we get to the convention unless Trump somehow manages to get to the required number of delegates to fend the others off during the first round of voting.
