COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Republicans hoping to stop presidential candidate Donald Trump were quickly deploying forces in Ohio Thursday as one of their last battlefronts ahead of Tuesday’s crucial cluster of winner-take-all primaries.
Some anti-Trump groups said they were rushing to air television advertisements in Ohio, where home-state Gov. John Kasich has crept into a dead heat with the billionaire businessman, after the groups poured millions into Florida, despite Trump’s solid lead there.
Nationally-known Ohio conservative Ken Blackwell joined the chorus of anti-Trump voices, while Trump himself was planning weekend stops in Cleveland and Dayton.
Still, some members of the Republican establishment in Ohio, the second-biggest prize among Tuesday’s nomination contests, wondered if efforts to derail Trump here were coming too late and if their preoccupation with Florida has been a waste.
“You would think this would be their big charge up the hill,” Ohio GOP state committee member Matt Cox said. “It would be a head scratcher if there’s no bigger effort to stop Trump here.”