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To The Editor:
Now that July’s Republican Convention is in our line of sight, the path forward for Gov. John Kasich is becoming clearer. It’s an uphill climb for Ohio’s governor, but Connecticut can make a positive difference by electing the most qualified and capable candidate for president.
John Kasich is best equipped to be president for a number of reasons. As chairman of the Budget Committee in Congress, Kasich led the effort to balance the federal budget. As Governor, he led the revitalization of Ohio’s economy, achieving growth and sustainability. By applying conservative principles and taking on the status quo, John Kasich turned Ohio’s projected $8 billion budget shortfall into a $2 billion surplus, helped create nearly 400,000 new jobs and lifted up people once forgotten by the economic recession.
John Kasich is a compassionate leader in maintaining the safety net to protect the most vulnerable and at-risk Ohio citizens, offering better education, health care, pathways up and out of poverty and support for the disabled, addicted & mentally ill. John Kasich is producing results in all these areas so we, as Americans, can rise and succeed together.
In Connecticut, we urgently need this kind of proven leadership. John Kasich can win the nomination and general election. And it starts with a Connecticut primary victory.
First, we are most likely headed for a contested convention.
Donald Trump would have to win over half of the remaining delegates to lock down the Republican nomination before the convention, a victory rate he has yet to reach thus far. Ted Cruz would have to win 88 percent of the available delegates, even more unlikely given that he has only won 30 percent until now. Kasich is heading into contests in the Mid-Atlantic, Midwestern, Pacific and Northeastern states—including our own—that are a natural fit for his brand of conservatism. A contested convention is not a given, but it becomes more realistic as time and state primaries pass and no candidate reaches the required majority of 1237 delegates.
Second, contested Republican conventions have a history of producing nominee winners who have two things in common: they didn’t enter the convention with the highest number of delegates and they are more electable in the general election than the other candidates.
Out of 10 contested conventions since 1856, seven have produced nominees who did not begin as frontrunners. Six have produced eventual presidents. John Kasich is the only Republican candidate who fits the bill, so he is likely to become the “white knight” candidate who emerges victorious in the GOP national convention in July.
When matching Republican candidates in a head-to-head battle with Hillary Clinton in a general election, the results are telling. On average, recent national polls show Clinton defeating Trump and Cruz by 10 and 3 percent, respectively. Kasich, on the other hand, is polling ahead of Clinton by 6 points.
Without a doubt, John Kasich is the only Republican who can beat Hillary Clinton in a general election, particularly crucial swing states, and win the White House. I hope you will join me in voting for Gov. John Kasich for president in the Connecticut Republican primary on April 26.
State Sen. Tony Hwang
Hwang represents Fairfield, Southport, Westport, Weston, Easton, Newtown & Sandy Hook for the 28th District in the Connecticut General Assembly.
He is also the Connecticut State Chairman of the Kasich for America Leadership Team.
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