Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) on Monday ruled out the prospect of running for vice president on a ticket with real estate mogul Donald Trump, the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination.
"There is zero chance that I'd be vice president with either of them," Kasich said in an interview on CNN. "Below zero, actually. Not interested."
Asked the same question in a separate interview with CNN, Cruz also said he had "zero interest whatsoever" in being Trump's vice president.
Kasich argued he, not Trump or Cruz, was best positioned to take on Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton in November's general election. He cited a recent CNN/ORC poll which showed Kasich topping both Clinton and her rival, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), in a potential general election matchup.
“You just read the polls. I’m the only one that wins the general," Kasich said.
Kasich faces extremely slim odds in his quest to win the necessary amount of delegates required to win his party's nomination. His campaign has openly begun preparing for the prospect of a contested convention, a scenario in which no candidate reaches the required amount in the first ballot.
"Nobody's going to have the delegates they need going to the convention," Kasich said on Sunday. "Everyone will fall short."
Some in his party, including former 2012 GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney, have begun pushing the governor to make an exit. The former Massachusetts governor recorded a robocall on behalf of Cruz on Monday that told voters in Utah that "a vote for John Kasich is a vote for Donald Trump."
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