LAS VEGAS (AP) – The Latest on the 2016 presidential race a day before the Republican caucuses in Nevada. South Carolina Democrats vote for their presidential nominee on Saturday (all times local):
11:25 a.m.
Marco Rubio says he’s “anti-prostitution.”
But the Republican presidential contender says he wouldn’t make prostitution a federal crime to stop the practice in Nevada, should he win the presidency.
Rubio made the comments on Monday ahead of a campaign appearance in Elko, Nevada, where prostitution is legal.
He said, “I wish Nevada would make it illegal. But that’s their decision to make. I don’t agree with it.” He added that prostitution “victimizes the people who are participating in it” – the prostitutes themselves.
Rubio says he wants to shrink the federal government, so he wouldn’t want to make prostitution a federal offense.
He said, “I think you can be against something and still say, ‘but I don’t want the federal government involved in federalizing something.'”
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11:23 a.m.
Ohio Gov. John Kasich has won the endorsement of Tom Ridge, a former director of homeland security and Pennsylvania governor.
Ridge had been supporting former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush for president since early 2015 and joined him on the campaign trail in South Carolina. Bush quit the race Saturday after a disappointing finish in the Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina primaries.
Kasich’s campaign says Ridge is signing on as a national co-chairman.