6 key moments in John Kasich's campaign

Ohio Gov. John Kasich dropped out of the Republican presidential race Wednesday, though he had already been mathematically eliminated from getting the nomination outside of a contested convention.

Here are six key moments from the campaign:

Late to the race

Kasich was one of the last of the 17 major candidates to announce his candidacy, on July 21, 2015 — just ahead of the first Republican debate in Cleveland on Aug. 6. The announcement — at his alma mater, Ohio State University — gave him just enough of a polling boost to qualify for the main stage at the debate in front of a friendly, home-state audience. (The last and 17th candidate in? Former Virginia governor Jim Gilmore, on July 30.)

His 43-minute announcement speech was vintage Kasich — unscripted and spontaneous. To those who were just seeing the candidate for the first time, it was "rambling" and "scattered."

The first Republican debate in Cleveland gave Kasich a chance to introduce himself to an audience of 24 million viewers. Cheered on by a friendly audience, Kasich set the talking points for his campaign.

He stressed how he could help Republicans win Ohio (no Republican has won the White House without winning Ohio.); he talked up his experience in Washington as House Budget Committee chairman, a job in which he worked on the last federal balanced budgets; he proudly defended his decision — controversial in the GOP — to expand Medicaid under Obamacare. And he presented his life story: son of a mailman from blue-collar McKees Rocks, Pa., shaped by a profound belief that God wants government to help improve lives.

Second in New Hampshire

Kasich largely skipped the Iowa caucuses, staking his campaign on New Hampshire, where he hoped to come out "a story."  He held more than 100 town halls, and it paid off: he came in second — albeit a distant second — to front-runner Donald Trump, 35% to 16%. "There's something that's going on, that I'm not sure that anyone can quite understand. There's magic in the air with this campaign," Kasich told a ballroom of supporters after the results came in Feb. 9. "We see it as an opportunity for all of us, and I mean all of us, to be involved with something that is bigger than our lives."

But the momentum from New Hampshire quickly fizzled. In South Carolina on Feb. 20, despite heavy campaigning along the coast, he finished  a disappointing fifth, behind Jeb Bush who dropped out that night. That set a pattern for his campaign: projections that momentum was building, that election victories and friendly turf was just ahead — only to find Republican voters rejecting him for anti-establishment candidates like Trump and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.

Kasich’s big hug

An emotional moment in South Carolina went viral in February as video spread of a supporter telling Kasich that his candidacy gave him hope followed by the two embracing in a hug. The 21-year-old told Kasich he had traveled from Georgia to see him because Kasich provided a bright spot after a series of difficult events in his life.

"I was in a really dark place for a long time I was pretty depressed, but I found hope,” Brett Smith said during a town hall. "I found it in the Lord and in my friends, and now I found it in my presidential candidate that I support, and I’d really appreciate one of those hugs you’ve been talking about.”

The two then embraced and Kasich whispered “The Lord will give you strength and protect you, I promise you, if you ask him.”

Dancing with Trump 

Like the other 16 candidates, Kasich's relationship with Trump was, well, complicated. At the first debate he treated Trump like many others, saying Trump's message was clearly resonating with voters and that the New York tycoon had hit a nerve. But as Trump called for a moratorium on Muslims entering the U.S., increasing insulted his rivals, and drew occasionally violent protests at his rallies, Kasich veered between denouncing him and, as he put it, staying above the fray and acting as the "Prince of Light and Hope"  — see 'Kasich's big hug' — in order to contrast himself with Trump.

Ultimately, as the all-important Ohio Republican primary neared, Kasich became increasingly forceful in his criticisms of Trump. On the Saturday before the primary he struck out at Trump for creating a "toxic environment" and re-emphasized his positive approach. "Kasich is a baby," Trump shot back at a rally near Dayton.

Winning Ohio

The March 15 Ohio primary was unquestionably the high point of Kasich's campaign — and his only win. Because state Republicans had changed the primary to winner-take-all to help Kasich, the 47% to 36% victory over Trump brought Kasich all of Ohio's 66 delegates. In the end, that one victory accounted for 43% of all of Kasich's 153 delegates. 

"Before we're Republicans and Democrats, we're Americans," Kasich told a jubilant crowd before confetti engulfed him, " And I want to remind you again tonight that I will not take the low road to the highest office in the land." With Florida Sen. Marco Rubio dropping out that same night after losing his home state to Trump, his campaign crowed "the electoral map was shifting" in Kasich's favor. But it never did — and Kasich never came close to winning a state again.

From governor to punchline

As he lingered in the race even after being mathematically eliminated from getting the 1,237 delegates needed on a first ballot, comedians and social media increasingly used Kasich as a punch line.

Kasich's eating tour of New York ahead of that state's primary became an instant meme — as did his eating pizza with a fork, a New York no-no.   "He had a lot," said one deli worker after a Kasich visit.  "I was just saying to my coworker, 'My god, he was just walloping everything.'"

Contributing: Eliza Collins of USA TODAY