04 May 2016•Update: 04 May 2016
WASHINGTON
Ohio Gov. John Kasich is expected to formally announce the suspension of his presidential campaign later Wednesday, which would pave the way for Donald Trump to clinch the Republican nomination, according to several U.S. media outlets.
Kasich is reportedly expected to make a formal announcement in Columbus, Ohio, at 5 p.m. local time (2100 GMT), according to the political news outlet, The Hill.
The Ohio governor was Trump’s sole challenger after Texas Sen. Ted Cruz withdrew from the race Tuesday following the real estate mogul’s overwhelming win in the Indiana primary.
He is expected to end his campaign with only one primary win -- his home state of Ohio. The underdog campaign failed to gain traction following successive defeats across the eastern seaboard and midwest states.
He had lagged behind his competition with only 153 pledged delegates to Cruz’s 565 and Trump’s 1,007. Despite the math, he stayed in the race hoping that no candidate would be able to secure the majority needed to guarantee a nomination, throwing the choice to the party's July convention.
He was bolstered in part by polls that showed him with the best chance of besting either Clinton or Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in the general election.
But Trump's Indiana victory paved the way for him to take the 1,237 delegates he needs for the Republican nomination.
Republican Party Chairman Reince Priebus acknowledged Tuesday that Trump “will be presumptive @GOP nominee” on Twitter as he shifted the party’s focus to taking on Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton.
