John Kasich, former Republican Governor of Ohio and staunch critic of President Donald Trump, conceded Friday that there is no path for him to win the White House in 2020.
“There is no path right now for me. I don’t see a way to get there,” Kasich, now a CNN political contributor, said of President Trump’s popularity among Republican voters during an interview with the partisan network on Friday.
“Ninety percent of the Republican Party supports him,” the Never Trumper continued. “It may be a shrinking Republican Party, but nevertheless. Maybe somebody wants to run and make a statement and that’s fine, but I’ve never gotten involved in a political race where I didn’t think I could win.”
Though Kasich poured cold water on a White House bid in the next few months, he did raise the prospect of running for office once again in the future. “Right now there’s no path, but we never know what the future’s going to bring,” the ex-lawmaker said.
Kasich isn’t the only one who thinks he shouldn’t run for the highest office in the land this time around. Former House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) said last month that it would be a bad idea for the former Ohio governor to primary the president. “No, I wouldn’t — I wouldn’t bother if I were him,” Boehner replied when asked about a possible challenge in an interview on NBC host Chuck Todd’s podcast Chuck Toddcast.
His remarks come weeks after former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld (R) announced his longshot primary challenge against President Trump. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) has said he is seriously considering a presidential run, but has yet to make any serious moves toward what would also be a pie-in-the-sky bid.