Elections

Kasich: 'Under no circumstances' will I be vice president

Marianna Sotomayor
WATCH LIVE
John Kasich
Jim Bourg | Reuters

Ohio Gov. John Kasich dismissed the possibility of becoming Sen. Ted Cruz's or Donald Trump's Vice President if one of them becomes the Republican nominee, in an interview on "Meet the Press" set to air on Sunday.

"Under no circumstances. Are you people kidding me," Kasich said. "I'm running for president."

The Ohio governor's chances of clinching the nomination remain a long shot. According to NBC News' delegate count, Kasich needs to win 106 percent of the remaining delegates to avoid a contested convention, a mathematically impossible feat.

Kasich also polled last among likely Republican voters with 22 percent favorability in the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll behind Cruz (27 percent) and Trump (30 percent).

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And though the odds are against him, Kasich says he hopes political pundits stop asking him about a VP slot and start taking his candidacy seriously.

"People are like, 'What's his calculation? What's this or that,'" he said. "You don't understand me."