Republican John Kasich (KAY-sik) has landed the endorsement of fellow governor Robert Bentley of Alabama, as Kasich seeks to build support for the GOP presidential nomination.
The endorsement was announced Monday at the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in Birmingham. Later in the day, Kasich filed to be on the ballot in South Carolina’s Republican primary, the first contest in the South on Feb. 20.
The 72-year-old Bentley was a past supporter and delegate for Mike Huckabee, the ex-governor of Arkansas who’s also running for president, and was at one time considered a potential White House contender himself. His backing shows Kasich’s support broadening geographically outside key early primary states where he has so far focused his campaigning and extends to his party’s more conservative wing.
Kasich entered the race less than a month ago. But he’s building momentum off a strong showing at the first GOP presidential debate in Cleveland.