Kasich Looks Toward Open GOP Convention At Final Wisconsin Campaign Stop

Republican presidential candidate John Kasich is looking forward to an open GOP convention this summer.

“They feel a burden on their shoulders,” Kasich said of Republican delegates at a campaign stop in Madison on Saturday. “Cause I saw it in 1976, how seriously they took it and it’s gonna to be the same way this time. They know they’re going to be involved in picking the leader of the free world, the commander-in-chief of the United States of America.”

The last open GOP convention, a showdown between incumbent President Gerald Ford and opponent Ronald Reagan, took place in 1976. An open convention occurs when no candidate has secured the required number of delegates to win the party’s nomination.

The Ohio governor made his cause for delegates’ support, saying he would do well in the fall’s general election.

“The Republicans at this convention are going to wonder who can win in the fall, and I am the only one who consistently beats Hillary (Clinton),” he said.

Kasich made a handful of stops around Wisconsin on Saturday, including town halls events in Janesville and Racine before his “Basketball & Beer” event at the Coliseum Bar in Madison.

He made brief comments as a Final Four basketball game played on TV screens around the room.

“It’s really important we do well in the Madison area,” Kasich said.

According to the latest Marquette University Law School poll, Kasich is trailing fellow GOP candidates Ted Cruz and Donald Trump in Wisconsin. The poll had Kasich getting 21 percent of likely Republican votes, compared to Cruz’s 40 percent and Trump’s 30 percent.

“We can, in fact, come together and we can defeat these barbarians,” Kasich said. “I’m going to do the best I can to pull the country together.”

Kasich didn’t mention his opponents by name, but alluded to their platforms being polarizing.

“I will do my job in Washington, and it won’t be some extreme agenda,” he said. “It will be a conservative government, but it will be one that will be inclusive.”

Richard Spencer, a Kasich supporter from Madison, said he’s supporting the governor because of his electability in the fall.

“He’s the only one running who is really qualified, who can win,” Spencer said. “The goal isn’t to win the primary. The goal is to win the presidency.”

Cole Brown drove from Racine to see Kasich.

“He just seems like the most real, like a regular guy,” Brown said.

“I like his because he’s a nerd,” said Ellen Montei, of Madison. “There’s nothing sexy about him.”

Kasich took a swig of beer, drawing cheers from the crowd, before leaving the bar.

He told supporters the Madison stop would be his last appearance in Wisconsin before Tuesday’s primary, but said he hopes to be back to campaign later this year.

“This is not over,” Kasich said. “Because I can win this fall.”