Alex Conant, the Communications Director for the Marco Rubio campaign, told CNN Friday morning that perhaps the divide-and-conquer approach is in fact the political game plan best suited for conservatives who want to knock Donald Trump from the top spot.

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Two of Trump’s rivals in the Republican party nomination race — Florida Senator Marco Rubio and Ohio Governor John Kasich — are heading into state-wide primaries in their home states on Tuesday, and the stakes have never been higher to perform well at home. Many analysts suggest that the only hope to prevent Trump from locking up the 1,237 required delegates would be for Rubio to clinch a victory in Florida — despite not winning a single state so far — and for Kasich to find victory in Ohio as well.

Just as Conant said that all non-Trump supporters need to vote for Rubio in Florida, he admitted that a similar arrangement should be considered in the Buckeye State, including fans of his own candidate Rubio.

“It’s so important that Republicans who don’t

want Donald Trump to be our nominee, they vote for Marco Rubio here in Florida, that’s why we’ve been 100% focused here,” said Conant. He noted that the Florida Senator was the only candidate left in the race capable of depriving the GOP frontrunner from winning the 99 delegates in that state.

“Can we apply the Florida same logic to Ohio?,” pressed CNN’s John Berman. “Can you say that any vote against John Kasich in Ohio is a vote for Donald Trump?”

Conant seemed to struggle with the realization of his rhetoric, but eventually conceded, “I’m just stating the obvious that John Kasich is the only one who can beat Donald Trump in Ohio.”

Watch the above video from CNN.
[image via screengrab]

Tags: Alex Conant, CNN, John Berman, John Kasich, Marco Rubio