Pataki to join Kasich on campaign trail

Republican presidential candidate John Kasich has a new ally on the campaign trail after an endorsement from former New York Gov. George Pataki last week.

{mosads}Kasich said during an interview with John Catsimatidis that Pataki would campaign with him all over the country as he seeks to keep GOP front-runner Donald Trump from amassing the 1,237 delegates needed to secure the presidential nomination and force a contested convention. 

“He’s going to campaign with me all the way through the election, and then campaign with me around the country,” Kasich said. “He is a class act. He is a great leader, and I’m just honored he would help me.”

The Ohio governor lauded Pataki, who ended his own presidential bid in December, as one of New York’s greatest leaders. 

“He’s up there in the pantheon of the great leaders of the state of New York. To me, it’s a very consequential thing he did, and I feel very good about it, and I don’t have any doubts it’s going to give us a little bit of momentum,” Kasich said.

Pataki previously endorsed Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) in January, but Rubio dropped out of the race after losing his home state to Trump.

Kasich has gained some momentum in New York, a poll released Friday indicates, but he and rival Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas) are still expected to get trampled by Trump in Tuesday’s primary.

Trump leads by 29 points, with 54 percent support, followed by Kasich at 25 percent support and Cruz at 16 percent.