CONCORD, N.H. — Ohio Gov. John Kasich exceeded expectations Tuesday night in New Hampshire, finishing second in the important first-in-the-nation primary after pinning his 2016 hopes there.
With the finish, the Ohio governor topped the group of governors he had been battling for months to earn a ticket out of New Hampshire, and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie came up short. Kasich also topped Iowa caucus winner Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, who had a head of steam heading into Tuesday’s primary.
In his speech at his primary party, Kasich declared that he would push on in the GOP race, mentioning South Carolina and states in the midwest as the calendar turns toward Super Tuesday and March, when the majority of delegates are distributed.
“Tonight, we had on to South Carolina and we will move through South Carolina to across this country and we’ll end up in the midwest,” Kasich said closing his speech. And you just wait because let me tell you: There is so much going to happen — If you don’t have a seatbelt, go get one.”
“There’s something that’s going on, and I’m not sure that anybody can quite understand,” Kasich said earlier. “There’s magic in the air with this campaign because we don’t see it as just another campaign.”
The Ohio governor had long targeted New Hampshire as ground zero for his 2016 hopes, and held over 100 town halls in the state while touting himself as a conservative who can work with Republicans. He only finished eighth in last Monday’s Iowa caucuses, and had just 1.8 percent of the vote.
Kasich has long come under fire from conservatives for his expansion of Medicaid in the perennial swing state.
Troubles may await for Kasich, however, as he does not have much of an organizing presence in either South Carolina or Nevada after focusing nearly all of his campaign’s attention on New Hampshire.
Last week, Kasich said that he would likely be heading back to Ohio for good if he got “smoked” in Tuesday’s primary.
