President Trump is headed to Ohio on Friday to headline the state Republican Party’s annual dinner in Columbus, but the top GOP official in the state — Gov. John Kasich — won’t be there alongside him. Kasich, one of the party’s fiercest Trump critics, will not attend the dinner, spokesman Chris Schrimpf confirmed Wednesday. His no-show Friday is far from a surprise, considering Kasich — who ran against Trump for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016 — continues to battle the president regularly and is considering challenging him in 2020. Jane Timken, the state party chairman, said in a statement announcing Trump as the headliner that the event will “be our largest state dinner ever.”

Source: Washington Post August 22, 2018 23:03 UTC