Debunking the Election Argument: John Kasich's Elect-ability in the General Election.

[EnglishArtsteacher]

In my most recent "MyTake", I debunked a common argument Bernie Sanders supporters use. Now, it's time to debunk a common argument I hear from the John Kasich supporters.

This election is full of fallacious arguments-Just like every other year. However, now it's time to shift to the Republican side. First of all, let me give you some background on me.

- I don't currently support any of the candidates running.

- Again, I could care less who you support: It's the reason WHY you support, or WHY you feel a certain way I'm more curious about.

- I will try to debunk an argument I see used for EACH CANDIDATE'S supporters.

For this "Mytake", I'm going to debunk an argument I mainly see among John Kasich supporters.

The Argument Given By Many John Kasich Supporters: John Kasich is the most electable candidate for the Republicans.

For those of you who don't know, John Kasich is the governor of Ohio, and I'm a lifelong Ohioan-Who DESPISES John Kasich. With that being said, no bias here, I truly don't think he is the most electable Republican. Actually, I think he is the least electable Republican, and here is why.

Reason One: John Kasich has only won one state so far.

This seems to be a "No-Brainer", right? To this date in the Primary process, the only state John Kasich has won is his home state of Ohio-And as an Ohioan, I can tell you right now this is mainly due to the fact he had people voting for him to solely stop Donald Trump-NOT because they actually support John Kasich. Even in the states he has lost, he has lost MISERABLY-by huge margins, sometimes as low as fourth, and fifth place(depending on how many people were running at the time). Ohio is the only crucial "Swing-State" he has even showed strength in-Let alone won among key states.

Reason Two: John Kasich fails miserably among independent voters-and every other demographic.

This is another "No-Brainer." John Kasich is losing among voters of every Race, both Genders, every age group, every religious group, registered Republicans-and registered Democrats.

However, the most important part of this is the independent voters. Among them, he is even trailing them against Ted Cruz-Who is loathed by independent voters. Even in his home state of Ohio, independents flocked to Trump.

Reason Three: John Kasich isn't too well known.

Turn on any mainstream news outlet, whether it be CNN, NBC, MSNBC, Fox, etc. You'll see "Hillary", "Bernie", or "Trump" pop up everywhere-And occasionally, they will talk about Cruz too. However, you rarely ever see, or even hear the word "Kasich." Why? Probably because he's the least popular, and is currently mathematically unable to clinch the nomination in delegates. He came in eighth place in Iowa. Let that sink in for a moment-I wonder if Iowans even knew who he was.

With this being said, even if he were to become "likeable", he isn't well known enough to win the General Election. It's as simple as that. Voters can easily recognize "Sanders, and "Clinton" on a ballot, so they would certainly vote for them.

Reason Four: General Election Polls are Pointless.

This is a huge reason-For any supporter really. I keep telling people-GENERAL ELECTION POLLS ARE INACCURATE. State-by-state polls have their issues, but they're far more reliable than national polls.

National polls usually sample 1,500 people or less, in a country with roughly 50 million voters. This doesn't take into account that they survey every state in the country, plus Washington, District of Columbia, and the fact the voting patterns won't persist in every state-It's pointless. Not to mention people can very well change their mind from now, and November. For example, I can survey 1,000 people in Louisiana-And they will more than likely come from similar cultures, and similar idealistic views, so it could be a more accurate survey. But if I did this NATION WIDE, there is no consistency with religion, race, income, etc. This is why national surveys are even more inaccurate.

Anyway, this concludes this "Mytake." I know you might read this, and say "DUH!", but the fact is, I live by many Kasich supporters, and they truly do feel he is the most electable.

[Spiorad_Aisce]

Yeah you are right John Kaisch candidacy is sinking like a lead balloon. Cruz is the only Republican "Stop Trump" viable candidate and even that seems a forlorn hope after New York

[EnglishArtsteacher]

Exactly!

[ksoma]

despite not liking Kasich, I'm glad he's staying in the race. Trump's cult followers seem to think that whoever has the most delegates should be nominated. That is not how it works. That is not how it has ever worked before. If Trump is short JUST ONE delegate, and they have to go to convention to pick a nominee, that's just how the system works. It isn't like Trump is the first it's happened to.

As long as Kasich is in the race, people have votes to give to someone who isn't Trump. Every point that doesn't go to Trump is one that, God and voter willing, will keep him from being the nominee based on delegates.
Kasich may have only won one state, but other than New York (with it's pitifully low republican turn out) Trump has not gotten 50% or higher in any state. He hasn't even hit 40% in many states he won. Pretty clear proof that he is not who "the majority" of the GOP want, despite his claims to the contrary.
Every day Kasich stays in is another day that Trump is stumped.

[EnglishArtsteacher]

And as much as I hate Kasich, I'm glad he's staying in the race too, because I can't stand a quitter. I will respect him for his effort.

You're right about the delegate situation. Just because you have the most delegates, doesn't mean you will win the nomination. Trump needs to CLINCH the nomination mathematically; Not just have more delegates. Personally, I think whoever has the popular vote should be nominated-Simply because that's the most fair.

And Kasich isn't "stumping" Trump too much. Sure, he was able to stop him in Ohio, and has slimmed Trump's margin of victory in the northeastern states, but in another way, he has helped Trump. Why? Because if Kasich would have dropped out much earlier, his voters could have went to Cruz, and helped beat Trump in key, "Winner-Take-All" states. Trump is benefiting from a two-person race.

[RationalMale]

Kasich supporters need to get real.

1. Voting isn't mandatory. Even if there's a Kasich vs Clinton, doesn't mean everyone will turn out and vote for someone they hate.
2. If you nominate a candidate who did amazingly horrible in the primary, people won't vote for him in the general. Hell, Rubio did awesome compared to Kasich, and he dropped out.

[EnglishArtsteacher]

1. Excellent point! I should have mentioned this.
2. This pretty much summarized by "MyTake." I can see how Ted Cruz is argued to be a better General Election candidate than Donald Trump, but someone as unpopular as John Kasich just can't be elected. It would probably be a repeat of the 1984 General Election-Where Kasich's only state he would win; would be Ohio!

[QuestionMan]

Reason Five: Even if he somehow won all the remaining delegates he still wouldn't win the nomination.

[EnglishArtsteacher]

The only reason this isn't a stronger argument is because the Republican Nomination will more than likely go to a Brokered Convention. This means that the Republican officials can choose whoever they want to be their nominee.

However, they're not going to choose Kasich-A guy who has barely won any of the vote, and can't win any key demographics-I mean not even close.