John Kasich follows through on vow not to vote for Donald Trump, writes in John McCain instead

[brooklynite]

Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Gov. John Kasich, who had vowed not to vote for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, voted Monday by absentee ballot.

His choice? Sen. John McCain of Arizona.

Chris Schrimpf, the governor's political spokesman, confirmed the write-in vote to cleveland.com and said Kasich voted straight-ticket Republican on the rest of his ballot. Schrimpf added that Kasich was comfortable picking McCain, the 2008 GOP nominee for president, over Trump, Democrat Hillary Clinton and Libertarian Gary Johnson, a former Republican on the ballot as a nonpartisan candidate.

The vote essentially is a symbolic gesture. Because McCain is not among the 18 certified write-in candidates in Ohio, Kasich's vote for president will not count.

Read more: http://www.cleveland.com/politics/index.ssf/2016/10/john_kasich_follows_through_on.html

---

I'm confused; does this mean Kasich DOESN'T think he was the best Republican candidate?

[MADem]

1. Really, if you're going to throw away your vote, at least vote for yourself!

That false humility crap is a waste of time.

[TheCowsCameHome]

2. Well, one less (R) vote for Trump

I guess that's good.

[JI7]

3. in terms of his future voting mccain is better than voting himself

if there is a chance someone like him or rubio or some other more traditional republican can win again saying he voted for someone who would be considered a hero would be better than himself.

if the teabaggers are still in chance he wont win either way .

[BlueMTexpat]

20. McCain is now 80 years old

and was demonstrably senile in some ways during the 2008 election. Either that or he was exceptionally stupid and uninformed.

Anyone who would write in McCain in in the hopes that he, at 84 in 2020, could muster enough energy and sharpness to win a US Presidential campaign is absolutely nuts.

Neither McCain nor Rubio is in any sense a "traditional Republican," IMO. Kasich himself is very conservative. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/feb/11/john-kasich-ohio-moderate-voting-record-republican-president-campaign

[JI7]

21. nobody thinks mccain was actually going to be president with this

It's more like saying he is a mccain type republican as opposed to trump type republicsn.

[BlueMTexpat]

22. I perhaps misunderstood

what the "him" in this part of your post referred to.

... if there is a chance someone like him or rubio or some other more traditional republican can win again ...

I understood the "him" to refer to McCain. I was likely not alone in that even if I was the only person to comment.

But I repeat, Kasich is not a "traditional" GOPer. He is every bit as conservative as some of the more openly rabid. Please check out the Guardian article at the link I posted, for instance.

[JI7]

23. i meant kasich

In the general election it would help him more to say he voted for McCain than for himself.

But his problem is the primary and the teabag control over it .

Traditional republican doesn't mean they are not right leaning.

I'm just contrasting with trump.

[BlueMTexpat]

26. OK!

[Equinox Moon]

4. Write-ins are a throw away vote

[Ms. Toad]

12. Especially in Ohio, since you have to be registered in order to have any votes cast for you counted.

So, literally, he threw his vote away. It won't even be counted as a vote for McCain.

[LisaL]

13. Yes, it won't be counted for McCain.

McCain didn't declare himself as a write in candidate so any vote for McCain won't be counted.

[yardwork]

25. He bought political capital with that vote.

Kasich will try again in 2020, and he'll be able to say that he didn't vote for Trump. Instead, he voted for an "American hero."

[Ms. Toad]

27. Except that he didn't.

McCain was not a candidate for president in Ohio, not even a write-in candidate. His vote was identical to leaving it blank.

[ericson00]

5. unless there's a picture of Kasich's ballot somewhere proving he voted for McCain,

I wouldn't be too surprised if he actually voted for Hillary; he just doesn't wanna risk the death threats and "globalist" label (and probably with echo marks around it) from the alt-right.

[JudyM]

8. ... or for himself.

[milestogo]

6. Well at least he didn't vote for Gary Johnson.

[Divine Discontent]

7. I would run radio ads over the weekend saying even our Republican governor announced he refuses to

vote for someone like Trump.

[Hulk]

9. What a brave douchebag....

Means a lot, to vote for mcGrumpy. That will surely assure the idiot that drumpf won't walk into the White House on January 20th. What a complete buffoon.

[NobodyHere]

10. Well he has more dignity than Ted Cruz

I'll give him that

[LisaL]

11. That's for sure.

[DonCoquixote]

14. still a wuss

Then again he knows that he is the preferred candidate for 2020

[Upin]

15. Sanest person in the asylum...

[DonCoquixote]

16. and he still could use

a lobotomy, like everyone who wants to get rid of social security does.

[Upin]

17. He had a shot at some of the libertarian crowd...

... but then blew a chunk of it with his anti-atheist garbage and his ideas about a center for judeo-christian values.

That's just my social circle though. Maybe not...

In any case, he's one of the few who managed to retain a shred of dignity by sticking with his principles. As opposed to Ted Cruz who finally gave in. Right about the time a bunch of other Republicans jumped ship for the Billy Bush tape I think.

He could have been the favorite next time *shudder* but now he just looks like a coward.

[Matthew Rose]

19. ...but a deplorable at heart.

[JI7]

18. if they can figure out a way to prevent the trump crowd from taking control

in the primary.

[adigal]

24. Maybe confirmed Hillary haters in Ohio will write-in McCain

rather than vote for Trump, giving the win to Hillary.

[IronLionZion]

28. Conservatives in Ohio and other states should do the same nt

[Coyotl]

29. This makes my day! Why not Dick Cheney?

Too bad George W. Bush isn't eligible!

[LiberalLovinLug]

30. Its a good thing most Republican reps are too stupid and/or cowardly to do this too

After Trump loses, he will be one of the top prospects the next time around. Jeb knows this too. Meanwhile, Rudy, Chris, and even Cruz now have painted themselves into a dark corner with a diminishing base.