WASHINGTON -- The George W. Bush steamroller for the Republican presidential nomination is claiming its first victims this week.

Rep. John Kasich of Ohio, the House Budget Committee chairman whose bid for young and populist voters never caught on, is expected to announce he is dropping out of the crowded GOP field in the next couple of days, people close to the campaign said. Meanwhile, New Hampshire Sen. Bob Smith is jumping from the GOP to seek the nomination from the Taxpayers Party.

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