Nevada governor backs Kasich

Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval backed presidential hopeful John Kasich Saturday and joined his campaign as a national co-chair.

{mosads}“Governor Kasich and I entered office at the same time with the same primary objective: to put people back to work,” Sandoval said in a statement Saturday. “John Kasich is the only candidate in the race with a real plan to deliver results, and he is the only Republican who can defeat Hillary Clinton in the fall.”

While Kasich, governor of Ohio, has been endorsed by other GOP politicians, it has done little to help his campaign thus far, as he lags behind front-runner Donald Trump and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in the delegate count.

Kasich has won 143 pledged delegates, while Cruz has 545, according to The Associated Press delegate tracker. Trump has 743.

Kasich has said he hopes for a contested Republican convention in July and claims delegates will flip to his side in subsequent ballots.

Many delegates are bound on the first ballot to the winner of their state’s primary but are released for following ballots to back the candidate of their choosing.

Sandoval’s endorsement may have helped Kasich more if it came in February, when Nevada held its caucuses. There, the Ohio governor came in fifth place, only earning 3.6 percent of the vote and one delegate.