Ohio Gov. John Kasich has not been shy in saying that if doesn't see a change with Republican presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump, he won't be supporting him. So far, Kasich, who dropped out of the presidential race last month, hasn't seen that change.

Want to know what�s happening in Ohio government and politics from Columbus to Washington, D.C.? The Columbus Dispatch has you covered.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich has not been shy in saying that if doesn�t see a change with Republican presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump, he won�t be supporting him.

So far, Kasich, who dropped out of the presidential race last month, hasn�t seen that change.

What he said: �I�m waiting to see if at this point there�s going to be a Damascus Road experience, a dramatic change,� Kasich told Yahoo political columnist Matt Bai. �And I haven�t seen it. You never know when it can happen. But without that, I won�t be involved.�

On Trump�s response to the Orlando shooting? �Terrible. It�s not the way you operate as a leader. Terrible. �I told you so�? What�s the magic of that? You know, who doesn�t know we are vulnerable to radical Islam? Everyone knows we are vulnerable to it.

�And then, to somehow insinuate that the president of the United States accepts this or condones this, it�s just outrageous.�

But can Trump get elected? �I don�t think he can get elected with this rhetoric, no,� Kasich said.

Meanwhile: While on MSNBC's Morning Joe this morning, Kasich there are people �who pound on me� to endorse Trump but he said �I�m not prepared to do it.�



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New Hillary Clinton commercials: Meanwhile on the Democratic side, presumptive presidential nominee Hillary Clinton will have two new commercials airing in Ohio among other states. They highlight the work she�s done to help children.

You can see the ads here.

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The case against Sherrod Brown for VP: Nathaniel Rakich of the New Republic points out the reason why much-touted Sen. Sherrod Brown would not make a good vice presidential candidate for Hillary Clinton:

To many, Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown should be a frontrunner to be the Democratic nominee for vice president. He has credibility with the Bernie Sanders wing of the party, which Hillary Clinton must win over, and is from a swing state to boot. But that bonus is also his downfall. Under state law, if Brown becomes vice president, Governor John Kasich would appoint his replacement for the next two years. Kasich, of course, would undoubtedly choose a fellow Republican, handing the GOP a Senate seat that Democrats spent $40 million to hold onto in 2012.

Speaking of Sherrod Brown, part 1: Brown said he is confident Bernie Sanders, who has been running for the Democratic presidential nomination, will eventually back Clinton.

�I know him well enough to know that he will be full-throated with (the backing of) Hillary Clinton and the Democrats in November,� he said on Wednesday in a conference call with reporters.

Speaking of Sherrod Brown, part 2: Brown was one of a number of Democrats to take the Senate floor in a lengthy debate aiming to pressure Republicans to vote on gun control measures after the Orlando shooting, according to Washington bureau chief Jack Torry.

Brown read two letters from people in Ohio who want tougher gun laws. Brown read one letter from a gay man in Toledo who wrote he had �never been to a pride event. This year was going to be my year, and I am scared.�

Brown continued reading the letter in which the man asked, �Why is that it's harder to obtain a driver�s license than it is to buy a gun? . . . This shooting issue in our country is one that needs solved. It won't be solved by doing nothing.�

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The Democratic platform: �This year's national Democratic platform will likely place a greater emphasis on gun-control and anti-hate crime measures because of the Orlando shootings, according to an Ohio lawmaker helping to draw up the document,� Cleveland.com�s Jeremy Pelzer writes.

State Rep. Alicia Reece, a Cincinnati Democrat serving on the DNC's platform drafting committee said, �gun control would be �a huge push in our platform,� as well as expanding the definition of hate crimes to protect victims targeted because of their sexual orientation,� Pelzer writes.

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Kasich makes plea for Portman: Kasich is making good on his promise to help Republicans in Congress during this election year.

The Ohio governor sent out a �personal plea� on behalf of Sen. Rob Portman.

�We've made a lot of progress together in Ohio and we can't afford to go backwards�.Ohio desperately needs more leaders like Rob in the Senate. Rob and I have been friends for more than twenty years. We've worked together to combat Ohio's drug epidemic, restore fiscal responsibility and grow our economy,� Kasich writes.

Portman is in a tough re-election battle with former Ohio governor and Democrat Ted Strickland.

Kasich has also sent out a fundraising plea for John McCain and helped at a fundraiser for Rand Paul.

Meanwhile: Portman has released a new radio ad hitting Strickland. �Portman argues Strickland has forgotten the people who elected him and cites his stances on guns and coal as evidence that Strickland has veered left,� Dispatch Washington reporter Jessica Wehrman writes.

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On the countdown: 145 days until the general election.

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Happening today: A hearing is scheduled at 9 a.m. Thursday in Franklin County Common Pleas Court in the suit of the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association, the union representing 30,000 state workers including those in prisons, challenge of the prison farm sales.

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Of note: The public viewing for former Ohio Gov. George Voinovich will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today at Cleveland City Hall. Voinovich died over the weekend.

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On this day: According to the Dispatch library, on this day in 2007, �Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland announces that the computer backup tape stolen from a state intern's car on June 10, 2007 also contained bank-account information for local governments, school districts and certain state employees and vendors, as well as bank-account numbers for Medicaid providers, retirement account numbers for teachers and Social Security numbers for more than 75,000 dependents of state employees. State officials later report that the bill for the theft of a computer backup tape containing sensitive data could soon reach $2.2 million.�

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meverhart@dispatch.com

@meverhart26