Kasich To Quit GOP Race

Ohio Rep. John Kasich has decided to withdraw from the race for the Republican presidential nomination and intends to endorse the front-runner, Texas Gov. George Bush, Republican officials said Tuesday.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said they expected Bush to be present for Kasich's formal announcement, set for early afternoon Wednesday in Washington.

The 47-year-old Kasich prepared his departure to underscore his support for his party, at the same time another erstwhile Republican presidential hopeful, New Hampshire Sen. Bob Smith, was on the Senate floor laying out his reasons for leaving the GOP.

Smith has left open the possibility of seeking the U.S. Taxpayers Party nomination for the White House.

Kasich and Smith made their decisions less than two weeks after Bush solidified his claim as front-runner in the GOP nomination race with record fund-raising of more than $36 million for the first six months of the year.

Kasich, as well as other Republican hopefuls, have been struggling to raise enough money to remain competitive in the race.

GOP officials said they did not expect Kasich to reverse an earlier decision to retire from Congress at the end of his current term. The Ohio Republican was first elected to the House in 1982. As chairman of the Budget Committee over the last five years, has wielded great influence over the spending cuts crafted by the Republicans, as well as their plan to balance the budget.

Technically, he never became an officially announced candidate for the nomination, setting up an exploratory committee to finance his travels. But there was never any doubt that he was running hard, and he had made numerous trips to Iowa and New Hampshire, the states that will hold the first caucuses and primary of the campaign season in 2000.

Recent polls showed Kasich in single digits, and unable to break even into the tier of contenders closest to Bush.