Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine tests positive for COVID-19
99¢ per month. Save 90%.
99¢ per month. Save 90%.

Kasich's #NeverTrump stance meant little to Ohio voters

Jessie Balmert
Gov. John Kasich opposed Donald Trump in the GOP primary.

Gov. John Kasich vowed not to vote for now President-elect Donald Trump. But Ohioans didn't care.

On Wednesday, Kasich tweeted his congratulations to Trump: "The American people have spoken and it’s time to come together. Congratulations President-elect @realdonaldTrump."

But for months, Kasich has opposed Trump's candidacy. During Kasich's run for president, the Ohio governor said America had two paths -- one that "solves nothing, demeans our history, weakens our country and cheapens each of us." That's the Trump path. The other path? "(T)he one America has been down before. It is well trod, it is at times steep, but it is solid." The Kasich path.

In the Republican primary, Ohio picked the Kasich path. Yesterday, Ohio picked the Trump path, or maybe the "not Democrat Hillary Clinton" path.

Either way, Ohioans did not listen to Kasich, who cast a vote that will not count for Sen. John McCain rather than pick Trump. How did Trump win without the backing of Ohio's top Republican?

"It proves how strong the enthusiasm was for (Trump), how much people wanted change," Ohio Republican Party Chairman Matt Borges said. "This is a change election. Hillary Clinton is the ultimate beltway insider running in a change election.”

Kasich, considered a possible 2020 candidate, planned to give a speech Thursday in Washington D.C., casting his vision for the future of the Republican Party. But that speech was canceled Wednesday.