Kasich to Drop Out of GOP |Race for the White House

(CN) — Ohio Gov. John Kasich will formally drop out of the Republican presidential contest on Wednesday afternoon, removing himself as the last potential obstacle between Donald Trump and the nomination.

Kasich tipped the news media to his intentions Wednesday morming when he cancelled and scheduled news conference and said he would be delivering a statement in Columbus, Ohio at 5 p.m.

The AP is reporting that it has now confrimed the governor's intention to leave the race with three campaign officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The decision comes a day after Trump's only other rival, Sen. Ted Cruz, dropped out of the race following a drubbing at the polls in Indiana.

When Trump entered the race for the White House last summer, he faced 17 GOP challengers and was scene as a rank political outsider who had little chance of being more than an election year sideshow.

But Trump's no-hold's-barred, shoot-from-the-hip style caught fired with Republican primary voters, who have handed him victory after victory as he steadily winnowed the field.

With no opponents left in the race, Trump is now the GOP's presumptive presidential nominee to take on the Democratic nominee, either Hillary Clinton or Sen. Bernie Sanders, in November.

As for Kasich, the second-term Ohio governor tried to position himself as the "sane' alternative to Trump, but his low-key demeanor and moderate positions failed to click with Republican voters who have exhibited an almost unprecidented anti-establishment frustration.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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