Rumors had Ohio Republican teaming up with Democrat

COLUMBUS — Ohio Gov. John Kasich says he is not planning a 2020 presidential run on a unity ticket with a Democratic governor.

Following appearances with Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, Kasich had been the source of speculation that the two might form a ticket in the next presidential race.
Appearing on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, Kasich was asked about the rumors by host Chuck Todd.

“Look, ‘Kasich-Hickenlooper,’ first of all, you couldn’t pronounce it and second of all, you couldn’t fit it on a bumper sticker,” Kasich said.
When pressed by Todd if this response constituted a denial, the governor replied, “The answer is no. OK?”

Kasich ran for the Republican presidential nomination in the 2016 primaries. Following the race, he refused to endorse his party’s nominee, Donald Trump, and has remained a vocal critic of the president since he took office.

Trump has remained antagonistic toward Kasich, endorsing and lobbying for the ouster of Matt Borges, a Kasich backer, as Ohio’s Republican chair in January.

Borges, who had served in the position since 2013, had also been critical of Trump in the presidential race.

Kasich said his appearances with the Democratic governor were not a sign that the two were planning an electoral run.

“Because Hickenlooper and I work together, cynics out there say, ‘Well, they want something,’” Kasich told Todd. “Because we want to stabilize health care and make sure that poor people have something, people assume there’s a motive. You know, sometimes people actually do things because they’re trying to help somebody. And when we do that everybody ought not to say, ‘Well, what’s in it for them?’ This growing cynicism eats at the fabric of the spirit of our country.”

Hickenlooper responded to the rumors on Friday with a series of posts on his Twitter feed.

“Odd & funny that people expect a political marriage when 2 people from different parties work together,” Hickenlooper wrote. “Kasich is dapper & worldly, but knows nada about brewing beer. Loving the attention on our bipartisan work, but no ulterior motive. Not a unity ticket, just working with a new friend on hard compromises.”