CLEVELAND — Where is Gov. John Kasich?
Seemingly everywhere except in the arena where his home state is hosting the Republican National Convention that has nominated rival Donald Trump for president.
To the strains of tunes like “Footloose” and “Superstition” at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum on the Cleveland lakefront, and against the backdrop of images from a presidential campaign that fell short, the governor made his first formal appearance with the Ohio delegation in Cleveland on Tuesday.
He never mentioned Mr. Trump by name and voiced a message of optimism that critics have argued has been missing so far from the Trump campaign.
“I’m optimistic about America,” Mr. Kasich told the crowd of delegates, Republican staffers, and reporters. “And I know this. America is the leader of the world. We can’t shrink. We can’t run away. You know why? Because we’re good people, and we’re people who believe that they can make a difference...
“If we can make a difference in the lives of people, and give them hope, and give them the sense that tomorrow will be a better day, together we can change this whole darn world for our children and our grandchildren,” he said. “America will lead for the rest of this century and into the next century. That’s our mission. That’s our goal, and let’s pursue it.”
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The Ohio governor also is making time to talk this week to the delegations of Michigan, Illinois, and New Hampshire without stepping foot inside Quicken Loans Arena.
He spoke Tuesday with the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, which endorsed him in this year’s GOP presidential primaries, and the International Republican Institute while staying outside the security perimeter around the arena and other sites in downtown Cleveland.
Ohio is a winner-takes-all state, so all 66 of the state’s delegates were bound to vote for Mr. Kasich on the first round of the nomination process Tuesday, even as New York real estate mogul Mr. Trump had enough delegates to put him over the top.
Mr. Kasich’s obvious absence from the arena floor in his own state and his refusal so far to endorse Mr. Trump have led to recent push-back from the Trump campaign.
Matt Borges, chairman of the Ohio Republican Party, said he has talked to the Trump campaign about what he thinks are wrong-headed comments by campaign chairman Paul Manafort about Mr. Kasich.
“If he keeps criticizing John Kasich in Ohio, he’s going to lose Ohio,” he said Tuesday, a sobering prognosis about a state that is considered a must-win for a Republican.
Mr. Kasich is just one of at least six Republican governors who have withheld an endorsement of Mr. Trump.
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, who is enmeshed in a drinking water scandal in Flint, has abstained from the presidential contest.
Brian Sandoval, of Nevada, is undecided, as is Susana Martinez of New Mexico. Govs. Larry Hogan, of Maryland, and Charlie Baker, of Massachusetts, have said they will not vote for Mr. Trump.
U.S. Sen. Rob Portman (R., Ohio) said the Trump campaign needs to make peace with Mr. Kasich.
“I don’t think he should keep up any kind of a rampage,” Mr. Portman said. “The way to win this is to bring Republicans together, and then reach out.”
He said the choice between Hillary Clinton and Mr. Trump is “pretty stark,” adding that “John certainly does not support Hillary Clinton.”
He said Mr. Trump is on the same side as the majority of Americans over the issues of national security, terrorism, and middle-class economic stagnation.
“I suspect at the end of the day we’ll see the party come back together,” Mr. Portman said.
Ohio delegation events this week have seemed to be more of a celebration of Mr. Kasich with Mr. Trump’s nomination almost seen as an afterthought.
The delegation hosted Mr. Kasich at the Rock Hall, but reporters were ushered out after the governor made his remarks, leaving the delegation to rock and roll in private before heading for the arena to cast their votes during the nomination roll call.
“We left the race abruptly, and the reason why we did is I became convinced that, in one way or another, to go forward I would have to tell people things that I didn’t think were true,” Mr. Kasich said. “I couldn’t reconcile that. Secondly, I would not want to lose that message.”
While Mr. Kasich spoke to the Michigan delegation in Cuyahoga Falls Tuesday, you’d never know from his comments that there was a presidential convention going on 40 minutes away.
The former presidential candidate’s 15-minute talk touched on a handful of topics, including the importance of young people to the Republican Party, the value of the police, and his love of Michigan chocolate-covered cherries. But the name of his party’s nominee never left his lips. Neither did an endorsement.
“I wanted to be here today because I had such a great time in Michigan,” he said. He was referring to his aborted campaign, though he didn’t mention that clearly.
Ronna Romney McDaniel, the chairman of the Michigan Republican Party, characterized his remarks as a “thank-you speech” for Michigan’s support during the primaries. Mr. Kasich finished third in Michigan behind Mr. Trump and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.
Mr. Kasich suspended his campaign after Mr. Trump won the Indiana primary. He has stated that Mr. Trump’s comments toward women leave him “very concerned.” At the Michigan breakfast, he applauded Ms. McDaniel and said, “We need more women to have these leadership roles.”
While some have conjectured that Mr. Kasich is already trying to lay the groundwork for a run in 2020, he insisted he doesn’t want anything.
“When I finish my next couple of years, I will have been in office 30 years,” he said.
While no immediate endorsement of Mr. Trump appears to be in the offing, he does plan to endorse Sens. Mark Kirk, of Illinois, and Kelly Ayotte, of New Hampshire, as elections approach. He also pushed the delegates to unify with newer members of their party — the young and those representing the “changing demographics” of the country.
“We can’t keep talking to the same old people,” he said, “because there’s not enough of us to talk to.”
Staff writer Tom Troy contributed to this report.
Contact Jim Provance at: jprovance@theblade.com or 614-221-0496.
First Published July 20, 2016, 4:00 a.m.
