Donald Trump is now the presumptive Republican nominee, but not every lawmaker is ready to rally behind him yet.
Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH), who is facing a tough re-election in 2016, says that he is sticking with Ohio Gov. John Kasich.
“John Kasich is Rob’s choice for President. He supports him strongly. John Kasich says he is in the race until someone gets to 1,237 delegates and Rob is his friend, believes in him, and will continue to help him,” Portman campaign spokesperson Michawn Rich said in a statement to TPM.
Portman’s Democratic opponent, meanwhile, is already doing his best to tie Portman to Trump. In a statement released Tuesday night, former Gov. Ted Strickland’s campaign said, “[H]ere are the 5 words that are striking fear into Senator Rob Portman: presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump.”
Portman’s campaign, however, maintains that they are just not going to consider Trump until Kasich officially exits the race.
“Rob is fully committed to supporting Governor Kasich because he is the best candidate to unify the party, bring people together, and defeat Hillary Clinton in November,” Rich said. “As long as John Kasich is still competing, Rob is going to focus on helping him and on his own race. Rob is confident we will defeat Ted Strickland no matter who the nominee is.”
