Renacci swipes at Kasich after defeat for ‘dividing the country’ against Trump

Rep. Jim Renacci (R-Ohio) on Tuesday took a veiled swipe at Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) after the congressman lost his Senate bid to Sen. Sherrod Brown (D).

Though Renacci did not explicitly name Kasich, he blamed the outgoing governor for dividing the state and the country with his criticism of President Trump.

“We jumped into a race and we actually were able to get a message out, which I think is important,” Renacci said in his concession speech, according to WEWS in Cleveland.

{mosads}”And look, when you have the loudest voice in the Ohio Republican Party dividing the country against this president, I am still very proud to stand with this president,” he continued. “I am proud to stand with his agenda. I am proud that we were able to campaign on that agenda.”

“When you have the loudest voice in Ohio who does not support the president, it causes the divisions that we’ve seen in Ohio,” Renacci added. “And again, that is probably the biggest issue that we need to be able to change.”

Renacci said the state must “pull together” in the wake of Tuesday’s elections in order to maintain economic gains from recent years.

Brown handily defeated Renacci to secure a third term in the Senate.

Republican Mike DeWine, meanwhile, won the state’s gubernatorial race, defeating Democrat Richard Cordray. DeWine will replace Kasich, who is term-limited.

Kasich largely stayed out of the two statewide races, but has remained in the national spotlight as one of the most prominent GOP critics of the president. He has repeatedly hit Trump over his tone and his policies.

A 2016 presidential candidate, Kasich has yet to rule out a 2020 bid.