From my observation, and I do not watch Ohio closely, Kasich hung on to the claim that he was conservative, but ultimately dumped on conservatives that had been repeatedly lied to by the GOP-e. I am not a huge Trump fan, but he is conservative in the sense that he is the only Washington outsider capable of damaging the lock the political class has over Washington. That lock has been detrimental to the citizens who REPEATEDLY had called for change that made good sense. The GOP committed fraud against folks like me by promising change, knowing full well they would not even attempt to deliver. Instead of siding with the citizens, Kasich sided with the elite political class.
I don’t remember the details too well, but I think he also bit on healthcare money from Washington and used it to strengthen Medicaid and /or Medicare. While I understand it helped the state budget, there comes a time where we have to say “no” to the enticements to sell our souls to the monster in DC for money . . . Kasich jumped at the chance. I liked him for a long time, but the more I watched him, the more I realized he was part of the problem and NOT the solution.
Very fortunate is the man whose friends never let him down. I have had three friends in my life who have not, and one of those died last year from pancreatic cancer. Learning that I had fewer friends than I thought brought me a measure of valuable wisdom that I would have preferred not to attain. Knowledge of what the world is REALLY like is a heavy burden to bear. My Dad taught me at a young age to prepare to NOT depend on anyone but myself . . . I guess that he, like me, learned the hard way. And politicians are far less worthy of trust than most people. Color me cynical, but I have been proven correct far more than I have been proven wrong. I am sorry your friend disappointed you. I know first hand in a personal way how that feels.