Kasich: Romney voting for Cruz 'is all politics'

Ohio governor and GOP presidential candidate goes 'On the Record' on Mitt Romney announcing he will vote for Ted Cruz in the primary, how delegate work and insists he can beat Hillary Clinton and be president

This is a rush transcript from "On the Record," March 18, 2016. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

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GOV. JOHN KASICH, GOP PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm the only candidate that can beat Hillary Clinton in the fall. I'm not here to play a game. I'm here because I'm worried about who is going to run the United States.

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GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, FOX NEWS HOST: That was Governor John Kasich on the campaign trail today in Utah. And after a big win last week in Ohio, and as the 2016 race continues, Governor Kasich is hoping to rack up more wins.

2016 GOP presidential candidate Ohio Governor John Kasich goes ON THE RECORD.

Good evening, sir.

KASICH: Hi, Greta. How are you?

VAN SUSTEREN: Very well. So I saw the video your campaign put out tonight. This was about how a week ago Governor Romney was singing your praises with your campaign in Ohio, and then today on Facebook he says his man, Tuesday, in Utah is going to be Senator Cruz.

What do you think?

KASICH: Well, what he said about my record last week is true, this week as well. And, you know, it is important that we win the fall election. And I'm the one that can beat Hillary Clinton. I'm the one that can get the crossover votes. But there is another important part to this, Greta. We need to elect somebody who can actually be president and get the job done.

And I've got a record of economic growth and bringing people together and solving problems. So I appreciate what he said last week and we just wanted people to know that he has talked positively about my record.

VAN SUSTEREN: But, I mean, what do you make of this? I mean, for the American voter, it looks pretty -- it's gotten a little bit crazy. Is that one week he says you're great, you're the guy and then the next week he says that it's Senator Cruz. Then we've got Senator Lindsey Graham saying that basically Senator Cruz is the last person he support. Now he is supporting him.

People are saying rotten, mean things about each other. Next thing you've got Dr. Ben Carson saying that Trump is great. I mean, it's a little bit nutty what's being -- do you agree?

KASICH: Greta, it's politics, you know. And, look, it will all get settled out.

And, look, you know, this is an interesting part of American politics. And people think, well, you go to a convention, everything should be settled. No, it shouldn't. A convention is part of picking who is going to be the nominee of the party.

And I think this is being driven to some degree by pundits who, you know, they've got to talk. That's how they get paid for talking. And what everybody ought to think about is how does the system work? You go through the primaries and then, you know, you get to a convention.

If somebody has enough delegates, they get picked. If they don't, which I don't think anybody will, then the delegates will take this very seriously. I was at the'76 convention and I know personally how seriously the delegates select. And I think a record, accomplishments, vision is going to matter and who can win in the fall.

VAN SUSTEREN: All right, if you do the math, you would need 106 percent I'm told of the delegates, which is impossible in order to get the 1237 in advance of the Republican convention.

KASICH: Right.

VAN SUSTEREN: Having given that, tell me, when you get to a convention, Donald Trump has 1,236, what do you do? How do you get the nomination at that point?

KASICH: Well, Greta, if this is the way this works. You know, most of the time that Republicans have had a convention that has been deadlocked, the front-runner is not the person who got picked.

VAN SUSTEREN: So how does it work?

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KASICH: Secondly, we have a lot of primaries. The delegates decide who they want.

(CROSSTALK)

VAN SUSTEREN: So tell me how this works, then?

KASICH: What do you mean how does it work? They go to a convention. They vote on the first ballot. They are supposed to vote for who they represent, and then it's opened up. In the second ballot, third ballot, fourth ballot. I mean, that's how it works.

And, look, we are going to learn a lot about this. And we are going to learn that the people who are delegates are people who are local government people, local party activists. They will take this very, very seriously.

And then I think in the end, they are going to determine two things. They are going to pick who can win in the fall. And I'm the only one that can, just look at the polls. And, secondly, who can run the country? That's like a very important thing. Who actually can run America. That matters.

(CROSSTALK)

VAN SUSTEREN: But okay, if it's -- if it's so important why are we hearing this crazy thing that you call politics where someone says this person is awful and now this person is great. I mean, how can we take it seriously when we hear these outlandish things being said?

KASICH: Yeah. I think to some degree, Greta, when you look at endorsements, people are trying to figure out what works for them. I mean, what angle can they play where it works for them. You know, but at the end, to be honest with you I don't think endorsements matter that much. There is a few, but frankly people are not going to vote on the basis of somebody said that such and such -- people are very smart.

You know this. They --it's just like in a jury box. They sit there and they determine what they believe, not on the basis of who said what, but on the basis of when they look at somebody and judge whether they think that person has the brains and the heart and the ability to bring our country together. That's what I think it'll be, Greta.

VAN SUSTEREN: You know what? I actually know something about jurors. Jurors are always -- they're pretty smart. Anyway, governor, thank you for joining us.

KASICH: Greta, I love you. Thank you.