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Kasich may name early VP pick

Ohio Gov. John Kasich, whose hopes for the GOP nomination rest on a contested convention in Cleveland, says Sunday he may choose a VP pick early so delegates can consider the whole potential ticket.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich, trailing badly in the delegate race for the Republican nomination, acknowledged on CBS's Face the Nation that he may select his running mate ahead of the Cleveland convention in order to bolster his case with delegates.

"I think that's interesting," Kasich said Sunday, responding to a question from host John Dickerson. "I mean, it's possible." He added, "You know Reagan tried to do that in 1976. He didn't win."

Aides to Kasich have begun vetting potential vice-presidential picks just in case, though he trails in the delegate count and has outright won only a single state, his own, Ohio.

Forty years ago, the GOP nomination was unsettled as Ronald Reagan pressed a challenge to incumbent President Gerald Ford. Reagan chose a Pennsylvanian, moderate Republican Sen. Richard Schweiker, to be his running mate before the convention. (This was supposed to convince delegates the conservative Reagan was ready to govern, and also to pry the Keystone State's delegates away from Ford.)

Reagan fell short of the second goal, and the president was nominated at Kansas City, but he certainly achieved the first one. After his nearly successful insurgency, Reagan was the favorite in 1980's Republican primaries. And we know the rest.