Gov. John Kasich only managed to win one contest — his home state of Ohio — during the primary season. | Getty Kasich drops out of presidential race The Ohio governor had long ago been mathematically eliminated from clinching the GOP nomination outright.

John Kasich ended his presidential bid on Wednesday, one day after Donald Trump became the presumptive nominee and Ted Cruz bowed out of the race.

The Ohio governor had long ago been mathematically eliminated from clinching the GOP nomination outright but had hoped to emerge as a consensus candidate at a contested convention. On Wednesday, he acknowledged that his message failed to break through all the noise of the 2016 race but that he is optimistic about his future.


"As I suspend my campaign today, I have renewed faith, deeper faith, that the Lord will show me the way forward and fulfill the purpose of my life," Kasich said Wednesday in Columbus, Ohio.

Continuing the notes of optimism and populism that were the hallmark of his campaign, he said the country needs to "shift power, money and influence from government back to the people wherever we live, and we have to begin to run American again from the bottom up."

"The spirit, the essence of America lies in the hearts and souls of us," Kasich said. "You see, some missed this message. It wasn't sexy. It wasn't a great sound bite."

Ultimately, Kasich outlasted nearly all of his rivals but can claim to have beaten few of them. He won only one contest — his home state of Ohio — during the primary season, and his final tally of 153 delegates puts him fourth in the race behind Marco Rubio, who dropped out in mid-March.

Kasich had said Tuesday night that he would keep fighting. Then Cruz suspended his campaign and Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus declared Trump the presumptive nominee.

It appeared to be a rather quick change of heart, as Kasich on Wednesday morning released a vaguely Star Wars-themed ad touting his general election prospects against Hillary Clinton, and he had been slated to talk with reporters at Washington Dulles International Airport in the morning before embarking on what his campaign termed a full day of finance events in Maryland and Virginia.

But the campaign later canceled the briefing and scheduled a news conference in Columbus, where he announced he would suspend his campaign.

Kasich's role in the rest of the 2016 race is unclear. Though he has repeatedly and unequivocally said that he was not running to be vice president, Trump on Wednesday said he would consider the Ohio governor as his running mate.

"I think John's doing the right thing," Trump told CNN's Wolf Blitzer in an excerpt of a larger interview, in discussing Kasich's reported plan to drop out of the race later in the afternoon in Columbus, Ohio.



Asked by Blitzer if he would be interested in considering Kasich on his ticket, Trump said, "I would be interested in vetting John. I like John. I've had a good relationship with John. I've gotten along with him well."

Kasich's campaign was not without its high moments. He had a flash of hope when he won Ohio’s winner-take-all primary. But after that triumph failed to spark any subsequent victories, Kasich pinned his hopes to a contested convention, with a plan to hang on through the primary contests and snatch the nomination on the back of being the last candidate standing. Other than Ohio, Kasich’s lone bright spot came in New Hampshire, where he took a surprise second-place finish, lagging behind Trump but well ahead of Jeb Bush and Rubio.

The Ohio governor’s campaign tried to cast its candidate as a steady, accomplished alternative to Trump and Cruz who would fare better against a Democrat in the fall. And Kasich carried on his message of supporting small businesses, lowering taxes and balancing the budget on Wednesday.

"Look, let me be clear, we all know that economic growth is imperative to the success of our country. Economic growth gives people an opportunity to realize many of their hopes and dreams in life," Kasich said.

He entered the contest with a much-hyped team. He mixed longtime, trusted Ohio aides with nationally known Republican operatives — John Weaver served as the campaign’s chief strategist and admaker Fred Davis worked with the campaign’s super PAC.

"Nobody has ever done more with less in the history of politics than what this staff has done" Kasich said Wednesday.

He also spent several minutes talking about the voters he met at town halls across the country.

"The people of our country changed me. They changed me with the stories of their lives," he said.

But the excitement he inspired at some of this town halls was not enough. While Kasich lasted until the field wound down to two, his candidacy never saw much success in fundraising — he came into March with little more than $1.2 million cash on hand — or in polls.

Brianna Gurciullo contributed to this story.