Ohio Gov. John Kasich was among the big winners when Republican Troy Balderson apparently survived last week’s special election for a US House seat centered on Columbus. Kasich was also among the biggest losers.
In the process, he encapsulated the puzzle facing the small band of Republicans consistently critical of President Donald Trump. Call it the Kasich dilemma. Trump’s Republican critics almost uniformly agree that they cannot attract a large audience for their case against the President until Republican elected officials and voters see evidence that his approach is endangering the party’s electoral prospects. And yet Trump’s critics inside the party feel compelled to help other Republicans win tough races — as Kasich did by endorsing and filming television ads for Balderson — in part because they fear that failing to provide assistance will brand them as disloyal and undercut their credibility inside the party. CONT.
Ronald Brownstein, CNN