Ohio Gov. John Kasich is requesting that his delegates stay bound to him at the Republican National Convention in July, multiple senior Kasich advisers confirm to NBC News, which was first reported by the Washington Post.
Kasich sent a letter to party chairs in the 16 states and Washington, D.C. where he won delegates, requesting that he hold on to the delegates. He cc’d Republican National Convention Chairman Reince Priebus and RNC General Counsel John Ryder.
Sens. Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio both made similar requests to keep their delegates at the convention.
“Given the nature of the primary season and what’s at stake, it’s a clear thing to do. There’s a lot to discuss at the convention past just who is the nominee -- the party platform, rules moving forward, all kinds of issues,” said Kasich’s adviser John Weaver. "The governor wants and is hopeful for a campaign and a general election campaign that is more issue-based and anything, so we will do what we can do to try get leverage for that."
In the letter sent to Ohio GOP Chairman Matt Borges, Kasich wrote, “I appreciate the work of the party during this primary season, and I thank the voters of Ohio for putting their faith in me. Although I have suspended my campaign, I do not release any Delegates bound to me. Consequently, I request that any Delegates allocated to me remain bound to me in accordance with the terms of your party’s 16(f) filing with the Republican National Committee."
Kasich suspended his campaign on May 4th. Aides say he is working on writing a book, and while he is still undecided over whether to support Trump, the governor is planning on doing a lot of campaigning for House and Senate candidates from now through the election. The governor recently had phone conversations with Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and Sen. Roger Wicker about where he could help Senate and House Republican candidates. As one of the politicians with the highest favorability ratings, his efforts to elect Republicans will start with an event he’s doing with Rand Paul on June 3rd.
