The GOP's current state is somewhere between who can shout the loudest and an outright civil war. The party is teetering on the brink and one prominent Republican is pushing the party's wagon closer to the cliff. John Kasich, the Republican governor of Ohio, who ran and subsequently lost the 2016 Republican presidential bid has entered a war of words with Reince Priebus. Mr. Priebus as the chair of the GOP has the difficult job of trying to unify a party behind the divisive Donald Trump. Kasich has refused to endorse Trump and the snub has angered those among the party elites. Kasich's snub of Trump was especially shocking as the Republican Convention took place in Cleveland, Ohio this past summer.
I find this article to be so interesting because it deals with two important repercussions from this current presidential race: down-ballot races and the 2020 election. Kasich argues that he is saving the GOP from a massacre in the elections by campaigning across the country for House and Senate Republicans who are in vulnerable positions due to intense backlash from Trump's emergence. I wonder if the governor will be able to save senators like Rob Portman (R) of Ohio who are facing competitive races. Has Kasich's absence from the convention and refusal to back Trump pushed the important swing-state of Ohio in the direction of Clinton's favor?
With so much in play for the 2016 race, 2020 seems quite distant. But there are GOP members who are contemplating punishing Kasich for his refusal to back the current Republican nominee. If Trump ends up losing Ohio, and especially the election, will Kasich be prevented from running for President in the future due to punitive measures put in place by party leaders? What if Donald Trump loses the election and those Republicans who are in crucial down-ballot races still wind up winning their respective re-election bids? Will Kasich be rewarded for saving the party?
http://www.politico.com/story/2016/09/kasich-priebus-trump-228343
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