Story highlights Alex Conant is Marco Rubio's presidential campaign communications director

He said Rubio's primary rival Gov. John Kasich is the best positioned to beat Donald Trump in Ohio

(CNN) Marco Rubio's communications director said Friday that GOP primary rival Gov. John Kasich is the best candidate for Republicans who want to defeat Donald Trump in the governor's home state of Ohio.

"If you are a Republican primary voter in Ohio and you want to defeat Donald Trump, your best chance in Ohio is John Kasich," Alex Conant told CNN's "At This Hour with Berman and Bolduan," adding Rubio was the best candidate to beat Trump in Florida.

When asked specifically if he was telling Rubio supporters in Ohio to vote for Kasich, Conant responded, "Yeah, my answer is John Kasich is the one candidate in Ohio that can beat Donald Trump. That's stating the obvious. So ... if you're a Republican primary voter in Ohio, and you don't want Donald Trump to be the nominee, John Kasich is your best bet."

While not entirely surprising, Conant's comments show that efforts to stop Trump, which had been relatively muted during Thursday's CNN debate, had not completely evaporated. Asked for comment, Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski told CNN, "(Rubio) is losing badly in Ohio and Florida. What else can he say?"

Rubio gave a slightly less forward message after Conant's comments when he was asked about them at event in Naples.

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