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Former New York Gov. George Pataki dropped out of the race on Dec. 29, 2015. | AP Photo Pataki endorses Kasich, bashes Trump

George Pataki has endorsed Ohio Gov. John Kasich, the former New York governor said in a statement released by Kasich's campaign.

"John Kasich is the candidate Americans can trust to revive our economy, strengthen our national defense and represent our great nation with dignity. His record of balancing the federal budget and propelling Ohio's economic turnaround speaks to his extraordinary ability to solve problems and bring people together," Pataki said. "Today, John Kasich is only the Republican candidate who will defeat Hillary Clinton in the fall and at the end of the day is the most qualified to serve as President of the United States."

Pataki, a moderate who favors abortion rights, will serve as a national co-chairman for the campaign.

In recent days, he's emerged as an attack dog against Donald Trump, hitting the Manhattan billionaire's qualifications and warning of dire consequences if he is the GOP nominee.

"I don't think Donald Trump should be president of the United States. I don't think he's going to be president of the United States and if he's going to be our nominee I fear he's going to drive the Republican party off a cliff," Pataki told Fox News' Greta Van Susteren on Thursday. "I just happen to think John Kasich is uniquely positioned -- he balanced the budget when he was in Washington, he's been a very effective governor in Ohio working to create jobs and move that state forward."

Pataki said he doubted Trump would win the nomination, but didn't say whether he would support Sen. Ted Cruz if Kasich dropped out.

The endorsement is unlikely to swing many votes for the 2016 Republican presidential candidate as Pataki, formerly a longshot competitor of Kasich's, failed to get any traction at all when he was running in the GOP primary.

Pataki dropped out of the race on Dec. 29, polling at an average of zero percent support in national surveys. He raised just $153,513.89 in the third quarter of 2015, giving him $13,570.55 in cash on hand at the end of September, and never managed to make it to the main debate stage.