Ohio Gov. John Kasich faces being shut out of the first Republican presidential debate - in his own state.
Kasich, who is expected to announce his presidential candidacy July 21, told a Washington news conference Tuesday he wouldn’t predict his fate.
“Let’s not put carts before horses,” he said. “I mean, we still have a month to go. We’ll see what happens.”
Fox News Channel and Facebook are hosting the first debate August 6 in Cleveland from 9 to 11 p.m. EDT. Those included will be the top 10, plus ties, in what Fox says will be “an average of the five most recent national polls, as recognized by Fox News leading up to August 4th at 5 p.m./ET.” Those not included in the evening debate can participate in a separate forum earlier that day.
At the moment, Kasich wouldn’t qualify for the prime time debate. An analysis by the NBC News political unit Tuesday showed Kasich 13th, with 1.6 percent.
He remained upbeat Tuesday. He wouldn’t say specifically he’ll declare his candidacy, but he said of his fundraising, “We set some goals and we exceeded our goal.” And he was planning to meet with a steering committee, which includes current and former Washington lawmakers.
David Lightman: 202-383-6101, @lightmandavid