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BEREA, OH, March 16, 2016 (LifeSiteNews) – Governor John Kasich won the Ohio primary last night, his first victory in the 2016 presidential campaign.

Kasich won his home state by 11 points after 2012 presidential nominee Mitt Romney stumped for him and Senator Marco Rubio gave his followers permission to vote for Kasich in Ohio if they thought it would help him edge out Donald Trump. Rubio dramatically underperformed in the state, garnering less than three percent of the vote.

“For the last five years, Governor Kasich has gone above and beyond to restore a culture of life in Ohio,” said Stephanie Ranade Krider, executive director of Ohio Right to Life. “Ohio voters have consistently supported his leadership, along with his pro-life accomplishments, to include the de-funding of Planned Parenthood and the enactment of Ohio's late-term abortion ban.”

He also signed a bill requiring abortionists to have admitting privileges at a local hospital, and barred public hospitals from granting such rights, closing multiple abortion facilities across the state.

However, pro-family advocates raised concerns over his embrace of Common Core.

Coming out first in the winner-take-all primary gave Kasich all 66 delegates, although election analysts are uncertain where else Kasich might win. He came in second in New Hampshire, a close second in Vermont, and had floated the possibility of beating Trump in Michigan only to fall short there, too.

Kasich's chief strategist John Weaver told reporters after last night's victory, “Gov. Kasich is the only candidate left who can take on Donald Trump, unite the party and win the White House in November.”

However, Kasich cannot win the 1,237 delegates necessary to win the Republican presidential nomination.

If no candidate wins that number of delegates, GOP insiders have raised the possibility of a brokered convention in which the candidate with the most votes may not be the nominee. Weaver noted this has happened six times in the past.

“If John Kasich thinks he’s going to become the nominee in a contested convention he’s got another thing coming,” Rush Limbaugh said on Tuesday. “If it gets to that point, can I tell you who I think they’re going to make president or make the nominee?”

“If not Jeb [Bush], they'll go [Mitt] Romney,” he predicted.

On CNBC last night, House Speaker Paul Ryan also did not categorically refuse to accept the presidential nomination of a brokered Republican convention.