Mitt Romney Devotes Himself to Helping Kasich Lose the Nomination

Well-heeled New Englander Mitt Romney will be hitting the campaign trail in Ohio in support of John Kasich today, NBC News reports. Romney has made it clear that he is not endorsing his fellow governor, and that the stops are part of his larger effort to make sure that anyone but Donald Trump is the nominee. It’s unclear how much he’s helping on that front.

Romney will make two stops in Kasich’s home state today. He’s also made robocalls in support of the candidate in some states and in support of Marco Rubio in others.

Still, Romney—the silver-haired face of the establishment and the man who brought socialized medicine to Massachusetts—may not be the best guy to have on your team right now. After he delivered a much-hyped anti-Trump speech this month, one poll showed that it actually increased Trump support among Republican voters.

At New York magazine, Gabe Sherman theorizes that Romney’s Trump speech may have been the start of a more significant reentry into presidential politics that will culminate in a late candidacy announcement and, Romney hopes, the seizing of the nomination at a brokered convention. If Sherman is right, and if Romney’s Kasich support happens to backfire as badly as his Trump speech, well, at least that’s one less competitor for Romney to deal with in July.