John Kasich: Open GOP convention would be ‘fun,’ ‘cool’

Far behind rivals Donald Trump and Ted Cruz in the hunt for delegates, Ohio Gov. John Kasich said Sunday an open convention in July to pick the Republicans’ presidential nominee would be “fun” and “cool” from his perspective.

“It’s going to be so much fun. Kids will spend less time focusing on [Justin] Bieber and [Kim] Kardashian, and more time focusing on how we elect presidents,” Mr. Kasich said on ABC’s This Week. “It will be so cool.”

An open or brokered convention would take place if no Republican presidential candidate wins the 1,237 delegates required to secure the nomination prior to the July 18-21 Republican National Convention at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.

In that case, the more moderate Mr. Kasich said he believed he would emerge from the convention as the GOP nominee, even though he trails his two remaining rivals by a significant amount.

Currently Mr. Kasich’s only path to the GOP nomination rests with an open convention. Under the RNC’s rule 40(b), which may not apply this July, only candidates who have garnered a majority in at least eight states may be nominated on the floor, and Mr. Kasich has won just one state, Ohio.

Based on his experience in economic policy and his record in Congress and as a governor, however, Mr. Kasich said, “I believe that a convention will look at somebody like me, and that’s why I think I’m going to be the nominee. We just have to keep going. And we’re going to have an open convention.”