News

GOP presidential candidate Kasich visits Original Oyster House in Market Square

PITTSBURGH — Following visits from Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, Republican presidential candidate John Kasich made a stop in Pittsburgh Tuesday.

The Ohio governor kept his visit informal, speaking with voters in Market Square before walking over to the Original Oyster House for a fish sandwich.%

INLINE

%

By his own admission, the McKees Rocks native talks about his roots every chance he gets.

"Hopefully, things like this will get people's attention. I think when people find out I have these Pittsburgh values, I think that will help as well. So we'll see,” Kasich said.

McKees Rocks native Amy Egyed said she went to high school with Kasich’s younger brother and brought her 1974 yearbook to Market Square Tuesday for Kasich to sign.

“I didn’t (think he’d come back as a presidential candidate), but you know what? I’m so glad of it,” Egyed said.

During his 45-minute stop in the Steel City, Kasich cited Tuesday’s NBC News poll, which showed he’s the only Republican candidate who beats Clinton head-to-head. With only one win so far, however, Kasich needs an upset in Pennsylvania to bolster his chances at a contested convention.

“It's been a heck of a ride for me in my lifetime, and I'm grateful. So much of what I'm all about you can find right here on the streets of Pittsburgh,” Kasich said.

More important, though, than votes are delegates.

"It's all about accumulating delegates going into the convention, because now everyone has figured out we're actually going to go into a competitive convention,” Kasich said.

A competitive or contested Republican convention could mean Pennsylvanians votes ultimately being ignored by the state’s delegates.

Pennsylvania has 71 delegates up for grabs in next Tuesday’s Republican primary. Traditionally, they vote based on popular vote, but of those 71 delegates, 54 are not bound, meaning they can vote for any candidate at the convention.

If a contested convention occurs, those unbound delegates could help decide the Republican nominee.

“It's quite unique in the modern era. We've never had it go quite this far,” WPXI political analyst Bill Green said.

Green said the possibility of a contested convention hasn’t been an issue for Republicans for the last four decades, since the nominee had been decided before Pennsylvania’s primary.

"It's not new, it's just that this has become such a tight election, and as we get later, we're actually getting into the weeds of this election,” Green said.

If Trump or Ted Cruz receives the majority of delegates before the convention, then that candidate will be the nominee. As the primary continues, however, it’s becoming more and more unlikely that will happen.