Would John Kasich have won Maine at large

[Zaybay]

People think Kasich is some invincible titan, that he can capture moderates, rekindle the GOP, blah, blah, blah. The truth is, hes not. As soon as he hits the campaign trail, he will be attacked, his comments from the past will be brought out, and his image will be tarnished. This is what happens every time. When you are out of the limelight, and the media likes you, you will see a bump in approval. this is a similar case with Joe Biden, where its his absence from politics and spotlight from the media that has allowed him to amass popularity.

And, as I said before, Maine was made close through rural WWC in the second district, where Kasich's appeal is weakest.

[Senator Incitatus]

Does anyone recall that Kasich made comments late in 2015 where he pretty much said that women who get sexually assaulted at parties caused it by their behavior? That's worse than anything Drumpf said in 2016 so the idea he was "likeable" is nonsense. Kasich got little coverage and as a result his skeletons weren't explored properly.

I think those comments got a fair amount of coverage, enough that you should know that's not something he said.

Here's reporting on those comments (which you should also know were made in 2016 at the height of the campaign season and covered by every outlet). Kasich responded to a question about campus sexual assault by outlining a multi-step policy agenda he supported as Governor and then finally recommending caution where alcohol is present.

https://www.cnn.com/2016/04/15/politics/john-kasich-no-alcohol-parties/index.html

Even if someone had said that, the idea that it's worse than bragging that you can commit sexual assault requires you to twist yourself in quite the mental pretzel. This board is preposterously anti-Kasich when these things come up. (Although OSR is just as often preposterously pro-Kasich, which tends to balance things out.) I don't even like Kasich, but this place does more to prop up Trump as some electoral wizard than anyone I know in real life.

I do concede that Kasich would have lost some of his personal plaudits under the scrutiny of the general election campaign. But candidates usually gain respect on net after winning a contested primary, not lose it. (For instance, Trump, Clinton, and Romney gained 11, 8, and 5 points respectively in net favorability between securing the nomination and election day.)

[Senator Incitatus]

Also, to get the discussion back on topic: Republicans would've only need to pick up 58% of Gary Johnson voters to flip the statewide result. I have a hard time believing that would be difficult for Kasich.

[Orthogonian Society Treasurer]

No. Kasich would have been shellacked, easy double digit margin for Hillary ala 2012.

I believe the correct term is "schlonged"

Mea culpa.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Also, to get the discussion back on topic: Republicans would've only need to pick up 58% of Gary Johnson voters to flip the statewide result. I have a hard time believing that would be difficult for Kasich.

He would have lost people that voted for Trump though because of protectionism and immigration.

[Senator Incitatus]

Also, to get the discussion back on topic: Republicans would've only need to pick up 58% of Gary Johnson voters to flip the statewide result. I have a hard time believing that would be difficult for Kasich.

He would have lost people that voted for Trump though because of protectionism and immigration.

I think that's at least offset by the people who voted for Clinton because Trump – which is a huge number.

[Sumner 1868]

Also, to get the discussion back on topic: Republicans would've only need to pick up 58% of Gary Johnson voters to flip the statewide result. I have a hard time believing that would be difficult for Kasich.

He would have lost people that voted for Trump though because of protectionism and immigration.

I think that's at least offset by the people who voted for Clinton because Trump – which is a huge number.

Nope. Schumer's got his numbers wrong - they lost two blue-collar Democrats in westrn PA for every "moderate" Republican they picked up in the suburbs.