John Kasich is tired of hearing about delegate math when it is patently obvious that the Republican Party will have a contested convention. “I don’t know why everybody’s so panicked about this. Everybody needs to take a little chill pill, to tell you the truth,” Kasich said on CNN. Kasich says he was at the last contested GOP convention in 1976 and it really wasn’t a big deal.
As far as Kasich is concerned, Donald Trump will certainly not amass the 1,237 delegates needed to win the nomination outright. “Nobody’s going to have the delegates they need going to the convention,” he told CBS News. “Everyone will fall short.” And people shouldn’t assume that the one with the most delegates will get the nomination.
“I think we’re going to go to a convention—which is really an extension of the political process—and when we get there, the delegates are going to think about two things: No. 1, who can win in the fall? And I was glad to hear Lindsey (Graham) say ‘Kasich’s the best general election candidate’ because I don’t think the other two can win,” Kasich said. “And secondly—now this is a crazy idea—who actually could be president of the United States and do a good job? When the delegates think about that, I think we will do very well and we will go to the convention with momentum.”
It is hardly surprising that Kasich is trying to brush off concerns about what a contested convention could do to the GOP considering there is no way for him to gather up the necessary delegates to win the nomination in the remaining primaries and caucuses.
Kasich also dismissed those who are calling on him to drop out. “Nobody is calling me directly and asking me to drop out,” he said on CBS. “Wait a minute—why don’t they drop out? I’m the one who can win in the fall.”
What would happen at a contested convention? Slate’s Josh Voorhes broke it all down in a detailed guide.
