How would John Kasich have done against Hillary Clinton?

[Fuzzy Bear]

When the campaign started in 2015, I believed that Kasich was the strongest GOP candidate of the bunch, but his problem was getting the donors and the rank and file to see that.

Kasich being 3rd at the end (behind Trump and Cruz) is actually kind of bogus.  Little Marco actually won more delegates.  Kasich didn't win anywhere outside of Ohio.  He didn't strongly contend anywhere that I can readily think of.  It didn't help that the "Establishment" sort of coalesced around Cruz, disliking him as they did, but that was also a statement about Kasich's potential electability. 

Kasich tried to be a nice guy in a year where the key swing voters were mad.  They were mad about their jobs being lost, and while some of those jobs were lost decades ago, Trump made it all current.  Trump also brought to consciousness the idea that, as a nation, we don't produce stuff and have massive trade deficits.  Kasich was, and is, part of the free-trade crowd.

 

[(Still) muted by Kalwejt until March 31]

Clinton - 274
Kasich - 264

This is his best-case scenario.

-You don't think he would have won Wisconsin?

[Fargobison]

He would have won WI and MN. Probably VA and PA as well.

Without Don, I feel people would have been even more apathetic towards her. A Biden vs Kasich race would be much more interesting to think about.

[impactreps]

Kasich/Martinez - 51.2%, 298 EV
Clinton/Kaine - 47.3%, 240 EV

Kasich was pretty much a generic Republican, and I think Hillary would have lost to a generic Republican pretty easily. After eight years people generally like to change parties, and that sentiment was powerful enough to elect even Donald Trump.

[pbrower2a]

Clinton - 264
Kasich - 274

Wisconsin decides the Presidency -- and gives the Senate majority to Democrats.

(I see much the same result for Mitt Romney, and what I say of Kasich also holds for Romney).

Bare win... he would not have had the demagoguery necessary to win MI and PA, but more significantly he would not have had the coattails to protect the GOP majority in the Senate. 

He would have to do outreach to Democrats with their Senate majority, and that would force a far-better Presidency than what Donald Trump has. At least we would not have a dictatorship!

...by the way -- Democrats would lose the Senate majority in 2018, and Kasich would likely get re-elected in 2020.