John Boehner Makes Endorsement

Doug Mills/The New York Times

John Boehner Endorses Fellow Ohioan John Kasich - On Saturday afternoon, John Boehner, the former speaker of the House, posted an image of himself on Instagram pushing a lawnmower and boasting, “My first cut of the year. My grass is perfect!!!!”

That evening, in one of his few public appearances since he resigned from Congress under pressure last year, Mr. Boehner endorsed Gov. John Kasich in Ohio’s Republican primary on Tuesday.

In a low-key speech to the Republican Party of Butler County, meeting here in his hometown, Mr. Boehner avoided any mention of the front-runner for the nomination, Donald J. Trump, nor did he allude to the anti-establishment uprising roiling the party nationally or in Ohio, where Mr. Kasich, despite his popularity, is fighting for his political life.

“I’m not really interested in getting in the middle of all this,’’ Mr. Boehner said. He went on to say that he had voted for Mr. Kasich, casting an early ballot, based on their years of friendship, including 18 years overlapping in Congress.

Mr. Kasich, a two-term governor who enjoys high approval ratings in Ohio, has called out nearly the entire Republican apparatus in the state to support his candidacy.

Mr. Boehner has kept a low profile since he stunned Republicans last year by announcing he would step down from the House, averting a possible government shutdown and breaking with elements of his party that rejected any deals with Democrats.

Paradoxically, the no-compromise wing of the Republican Party helped fuel the rise of Mr. Trump, whose supporters believe that only a total Washington outsider can end government dysfunction.

Deborah McGillvary, who attended a Trump rally on Saturday outside Dayton, said Mr. Boehner had disappointed her. “I think he became very weak in his attempt to try to pacify everybody,’’ she said. “He just let down the entire Republican Party.’’

The race to succeed Mr. Boehner in Ohio’s eighth district, which includes suburban Cincinnati and rural communities, has more than a dozen candidates who will be on the primary ballot on March 15. They represent Tea Party and other anti-establishment factions that undermined Mr. Boehner’s leadership, and outside money is pouring in.

Mr. Boehner, who cracked jokes about mispronunciations of his name and his well-known tendency to shed sentimental tears, sounded deeply relieved to be out of the fray.

“I have no regrets about how I retired,’’ he said. “Every day I’m grateful that I’m not there.’’