There are rumblings about a joint bipartisan presidential run featuring two governors: Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) and Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D).
Axios reports that a Kasich/Hickenlooper ticket is “gaining momentum,” as the two governors are planning to release various policy proposals on a number of matters, including immigration, health care, trade and the economy. The report also mentions that Kasich and Hickenlooper are in talks to start some sort of “podcast or cable show” to promote themselves.
Adding to the possibility of a Kasich/Hickenlooper ticket are reports that Kasich has been pushing Hickenlooper “to visit New Hampshire,” per Axios.
Kasich has been weighing the possibility of mounting a primary challenge against President Trump in 2020.
CNN is reporting that according to an anonymous source, the Kasich/Hickenlooper ticket “has been discussed, but not at an organizational or planning level.”
“What they are trying to show the country is that honorable people can disagree, but you can still problem solve together,” the source said. “It happens in businesses and it happens in families. Why can’t it happen in Washington?”
Kasich’s record as governor of Ohio is littered with numerous big government policies, including the expansion of Medicaid under Obamacare, hiking energy taxes and increasing spending. Hickenlooper has been described by Ed Willing of The Resurgent as someone who is more “toward the centerline” of his party, “trying to carve out a reputation for working across the aisle,” so it’s easy to see why Kasich and Hickenlooper seem to get along so well.
Ironically, an independent Kasich/Hickenlooper ticket may actually work in Trump’s favor. Jim Geraghty of National Review argues that the bipartisan ticket would likely split the anti-Trump vote in 2020:
It’s a lot easier for even a hobbled president with the advantages of incumbency to hold onto a plurality than a majority. Presume the Green and Libertarians amount to their usual 2 to 6 percent of the vote in most states. With Kasich and Hickenlooper running as an independent ticket, Trump and Pence just need to hold on to the largest slice of the remaining 95 percent or so, instead of needing close to half. The threshold of a win becomes the high 30s instead of close to 50 percent.
How confident should Democrats or the Kasich-Hickenlooper team be that they wouldn’t lose a bunch of 37-34-33 splits in key states? President Trump has had a really lousy run for a while, and his approval rating remains in the mid-to-upper 30s or low 40s. Assuming that’s his floor of support, that doesn’t look so bad in a three-way race.
Maybe Trump supporters should be rooting for the Kasich/Hickenlooper ticket to come to fruition after all.