Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R), a bitter rival of President-elect Donald Trump, has sent the winner of Tuesday’s election his congratulations.
“The American people have spoken and it’s time to come together. Congratulations President-elect @realDonaldTrump,” Kasich wrote on Twitter.
Kasich also abandoned plans that he’d announced Tuesday afternoon to deliver a speech Thursday on the future of the GOP, according to the Columbus Dispatch.
An opponent of Trump’s during the Republican presidential primary, and one of the few failed Republican presidential candidates who went on to refuse to endorse Trump as the party’s nominee, Kasich was seen as one of the leading never-Trump voices in the GOP.
Unnamed sources had previously told the Cincinnati Enquirer that Kasich would deliver the address, scheduled to take place at the conservative American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C., regardless of the presidential election results.
It’s not immediately clear why Kasich canceled his plans. The speech was seen by some as a chance to set a new path for the GOP after what was an expected Hillary Clinton victory.
Trump won Ohio with an 8.54 percentage point margin, according to projections by the Associated Press, exceeding expectations in the state.
