John Kasich says Ohio voters sent the Republican Party and Trump 'a message' Tuesday

Ohio's 12th congressional district is solidly Republican, and the fact that the winner of Tuesday's special election still isn't known because it's going to come down to a few thousand provisional ballots should make the GOP scared, Gov. John Kasich (R) said Wednesday.

Kasich told CBS News that voters in the district, which hasn't been won by a Democrat since the 1980s, sent a message to the Republicans, especially President Trump, "to knock it off. Stop the chaos, the division, no more of this family separation that we see at the border or taking people's health care away." This district is "so Republican, there should never have been an election here," Kasich said, adding that he believes a lot of Republicans didn't vote, and many GOP women likely voted for Democrat Danny O'Connor.

The country may be "entering, may be on the edge of entering a post-partisan environment where people are gonna start thinking a little more about the person and a little bit less about the party," Kasich said. "In my opinion, that's good for the country, but I hope my party will think about what we're doing in Ohio to help people from top to bottom. To me, that's the winning message."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up