Former Speaker of the House John Boehner has endorsed Governor John Kasich (R-OH) for President. The Butler County Republicans were honoring Boehner when he said of Kasich, “He’s my friend.”
Boehner also revealed that he had already voted for Kasich in Ohio’s Republican presidential primary. Ohio holds its presidential primary on Tuesday. Kasich has said that he will drop out if he does not win his home state. Recent polls have him in a statistical tie with Republican frontrunner Donald Trump. Senator Marco Rubio’s campaign told supporters in Ohio to vote for Kasich as a means of a strategic voting and preventing a Trump win. Ohio allocates all of its sixty-six delegates to the winner, raising the stakes.
The endorsement comes as Kasich has been moving ahead of Senator Rubio in the largely collapsed establishment lane. In addition, the Washington Post made note of Kasich’s wide array of endorsements from “formers.”
The event was Speaker Boehner’s first in the area since he retired as Speaker last year. On Tuesday, voters in his congressional district will choose the nominees to go into the general election.
Republicans at the meeting toasted Boehner. West Chester Township Trustee George Lang said that Boehner was the “best speaker ever.”
Boehner said that he had no regrets about stepping down. “I have no regrets about how I retired or when I retired. Every day I’m grateful I’m not there.”