Ted Cruz, John Kasich

Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas shakes hands with Ohio Gov. John Kasich at the start of the Republican presidential debate at the University of Miami, Thursday, March 10, 2016, in Coral Gables, Fla.

(Wilfredo Lee, The Associated Press)

Ted Cruz think it's best if he and John Kasich go their separate ways. Kasich hopes delegates don't stop believin' in his chances. But there's a long journey between now and the Republican National Convention in Cleveland. Read more in Ohio Politics Roundup.

Hold off on those Kasich-Cruz bumper stickers: Ohio Gov. John Kasich's presidential campaign "is looking to coordinate behind the scenes with Ted Cruz's in a mutual effort to deny Donald Trump enough delegates to win the Republican presidential nomination," CNN's Dana Bash and Abigail Crutchfield report. "They even tried to get 2012 nominee Mitt Romney to help broker it. The only problem for Team Kasich is that Team Cruz is not interested."

Kasich's chief strategist, John Weaver, says Cruz campaign manager Jeff Roe has not reached out to the Kasich campaign, despite a nudge from Romney to do so. "Roe told CNN he did speak with Romney, but declined to disclose details of their private conversation. A Romney spokeswoman also declined to comment on discussions he has had with the campaigns.

"What Roe did tell CNN was that the Cruz campaign has no desire to work with Kasich because they do not believe there is any advantage in it to the Texas senator."

So now Kasich is giving Cruz a taste of his own medicine: "What I get concerned about [in Pennsylvania] is a vote for Cruz is really a vote for Trump," Kasich said Tuesday on Fox News Radio's "Kilmeade and Friends" when talking up his chances in that state's April 26 primary.

Cruz and his allies have been saying the same about Kasich in other contests.

No more Mr. Nice Guy? "I think that's like the most ridiculous, outlined foreign policy I ever heard," Kasich told host Brian Kilmeade when asked about Trump's proposals. "I mean, come on, I think he said he wanted to use nuclear weapons against ISIS. Nuclear weapons!"

Kasich has been reluctant to tangle publicly with Cruz or Trump - even on substantive matters of policy where they disagree - for months. But that's changing now that the race is headed toward contested convention waters. Another example Tuesday came when the governor responded to news that Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski was charged with battery following accusations that he grabbed a reporter's arm as she tried to question Trump.

"My understanding is that ... he grabbed somebody, and that's frankly totally and completely inappropriate," Kasich said on the campaign trail in Wisconsin, per ABC News' Ben Gittleson. "It could've been one of my daughters, for that matter. Look, I think I've said what I have to say, which is, if it was me ... I would take some sort of action, either suspension or firing."

Cruz super PAC tees off on Kasich: Trusted Leadership PAC has launched a $500,000 television, radio and digital buy in Wisconsin, "attacking Kasich as a 'liberal governor,'" CNN's Teddy Schleifer reports. "'The John Kasich playbook: holding for a last-second shot at blocking out the grassroots. But that's classic John Kasich," a narrator says in a new ad, titled 'Kasich Won't Play,' as Xs and Os move around a basketball court sketched on chalkboard. 'Millionaires working side-by-side with George Soros are bankrolling his super PAC, while Kasich votes against the Second Amendment and expanded Obamacare in Ohio, costing taxpayers billions.'"

Text on screen also claims Kasich collected "hundreds of thousands of dollars from George Soros," a lightning rod for conservatives given his support of liberal causes.

Fact-check: That Soros line is false. Soros himself has never contributed to Kasich or his allied super PAC, New Day for America. But at least two past associates have.

Scott Bessent, an investment fund manager who left Soros' firm in recent months, has donated $2,700 to Kasich's campaign and $200,000 to New Day, records show. Stanley Druckenmiller, once described by Forbes as Soros' "main man" on a 1992 deal, has contributed $550,000 to New Day, according to the super PAC's filings with the IRS and Federal Election Commission.

The Associated Press' Julie Bykowicz also calls out the Cruz allies for the erroneous claim.

Milwaukee's Best? Kasich continued to clean up on big newspaper endorsements Tuesday, this time claiming a nod from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ahead of next week's Wisconsin primary. "The Editorial Board normally avoids recommendations for political office," the paper's editors write. "But the Republican presidential campaign this year demands a stand: We recommend John Kasich in the Wisconsin Republican primary on April 5."

What to expect when you're expecting a contested convention: Here's everything you need to know, how and why it might happen, and how it would work, via cleveland.com's Andrew J. Tobias and Mary Kilpatrick. Also, Robin Goist has a look at past competitive conventions.

A peek inside Kasich's playbook: "During an hour-long conference call," Kasich "addressed delegates and potential delegates to the GOP convention in Cleveland, as well as top donors and volunteers, to reassure them he has no intention of dropping out," Time's Zeke J. Miller reports.

"Kasich and his senior advisers maintain that the Republican race is heading for a contested convention - with no candidate having the 1,237 delegates required to win the nomination on the first ballot. They highlighted their efforts, led by veteran operatives Michael Biundo and Andrew Boucher, to woo delegates pledged to their rivals should that happen."

Hey, remember this guy? "Marco Rubio is working to play a role at the Republican National Convention even as his rivals scramble to pick off convention delegates claimed by the Florida senator before he suspended his campaign," the Associated Press' Steve Peoples and Stephen Ohlemacher report. "Rubio has sent letters to Republican officials ... [saying that] he wants to keep his delegates, even though he's no longer an active candidate."

Koch crew looking for local digs: A central player in the Koch Brothers' political advocacy network has canceled its reservation at a high-profile downtown Cleveland venue during the upcoming Republican National Convention," cleveland.com's Tobias reports.

"Freedom Partners, a nonprofit backed by Charles and David Koch, the conservative billionaire industrialists, had been slated to hold a convention-related event at the Union Club, an iconic, exclusive social club at 1211 Euclid Ave. But the group recently changed its plans.

The move is particularly interesting given that the Kochs, who are longtime major donors to Republican and conservative causes, do not support Donald Trump, the GOP frontrunner."

Portman downplays The Donald: Sen. Rob Portman, an Ohio Republican facing a tough re-election fight against Democratic former Gov. Ted Strickland this fall, says a Trump nomination will not hinder his candidacy, the Columbus Dispatch's William T. Perkins writes. Portman also reaffirmed intentions to support the eventual nominee, even if it's the mouthy real estate mogul.

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