Ohio Gov. John Kasich doesn’t want to take Donald Trump’s place as President-elect of the United States.
The former Republican presidential candidate, who ran against Trump in the primary, tweeted Tuesday asking that electors in the Electoral College not cast their votes for him when they meet December 19.
Kasich tweeted a statement that said, “I am not a candidate for president and ask that electors not vote for me when they gather later this month. Our country had an election and Donald Trump won. The country is divided and there are certainly raw emotions on both sides stemming from the election. But this approach, as well meaning as it is, will only serve to further divide our nation, when unity is what we need.”
On Monday, a Texas elector wrote in a New York Times editorial that he will not cast his vote for Trump.
Christopher Suprun, a paramedic from Texas who served as a firefighter during the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, ended the editorial by pitching that the electors still have a chance to unify behind a Republican alternative such as Kasich.
Suprun will cast his vote along with the other electors (538 in total) from every state and the District of Columbia in several weeks as part of the Electoral College process. Trump is expected to easily capture the Electoral College votes he needs to win.
Kasich made it clear that he doesn’t want any part of this strategy to not have Trump become president.
“The election is over. Now is the time for all of us to come together as Americans,” he tweeted.
Kasich and Trump had a contentious relationship throughout the Republican presidential primary and even after Trump clinched the Republican nomination, Kasich did not back his party’s nominee. After the election however, Trump said Kasich called and congratulated him.
