This may be an unusual year, but there is a precedent for what Gov. John Kasich is trying to do by jumping ahead of his two leading contenders at the Republican convention in Cleveland.

But you have to look deep into the annals of Ohio history to find it.

The best comparison to 2016 may be 1880. Like Kasich this year, James A. Garfield — then a congressman from Ohio — entered the 1880 Republican convention as more of an afterthought than serious contender. But after exhausted delegates cast 35 different ballots, Garfield emerged as a consensus choice that could heal the party’s divisions and guarantee winning Ohio in the general election.

For Kasich and his allies, the comparison is obvious: If Garfield could do it, why not Kasich?