COLUMBUS, Ohio �� Donald Trump's Ohio campaign has severed ties with the Republican Party chairman, accusing him of "duplicity'' and of not fully supporting the presidential candidate.
Bob Paduchik, Trump's Ohio state director, sent a letter Saturday to the party's state central committee members saying that Chairman Matt Borges "has routinely exaggerated his relationship'' with Trump and the campaign and "does not represent or speak for the candidate and he no longer has any affiliation with the Trump-Pence campaign.'' The Trump campaign released the letter.
Borges supported Ohio Gov. John Kasich in the state's Republican presidential primary in March, and Paduchik's letter cited news stories quoting Borges as saying he doesn't know whether he will vote for Trump after last week's release of a 2005 tape in which the candidate made lewd comments about women.
"I spoke with Mr. Trump on Thursday and he is very disappointed in Matt's duplicity,'' Paduchik wrote. "Mr. Trump told me, 'this is why people have lost faith in the establishment and party leaders.' I have to agree with him.''
Paduchik also suggested that Borges was trying to generate publicity for a possible run for Republican National Committee chairman, and that his loyalties to Kasich "eclipse his responsibility as chairman of the Ohio Republican Party.''
Kasich has refused to endorse Trump, and other Ohio Republicans, including Sen. Rob Portman, who's running for re-election, have pulled their endorsements.
House Speaker Paul Ryan Friday outlined the party's case against the candidacy of Democrat Hillary Clinton without mentioning Trump. Ryan effectively abandoned Trump's candidacy earlier in the week.
No Republican candidate has won the presidency without winning Ohio.
Ground Game Key
The Ohio Republican Party released an email Borges sent to committee members in response to Paduchik's letter, citing examples he and the party have done "and will continue to do" to support Trump's campaign, including consulting regularly with Paduchik and Trump's team.
"Interestingly, none of Bob's concerns were voiced until he shared them publicly today," Borges said in his email. "Let me be clear, I am never going to allow the bruised ego of a staffer to get in the way of my duty as the Ohio Republican Party chairman."
