SPOFFORD, N.H. — Gov. John Kasich said Friday he is optimistic about the momentum building behind his fledgling presidential bid, despite the lingering possibility that he will be left out of the first GOP debate, which is being held in home state of Ohio.
Mr. Kasich recently entered the crowded GOP field and is among three or four Republicans that are sitting on the debate bubble. The host, Fox News, is limiting to ten participants based on an average of national polls.
“Everybody said you’re getting in, it is too late,” Mr. Kasich told potential supporters that came out for a house party here overlooking Spofford Lake. “And then I have been in for ten days, I am now third in the polls in New Hampshire, I’m rising in national polls, and now they say, ’It was a brilliant decision to announce when you did.’”
Indeed, a Monmouth University poll released this week showed Mr. Kasich capturing 7 percent of the vote in New Hampshire - putting him behind Donald Trump, 24 percent, and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. Mr. Kasich appears to have benefited from a supportive Super PAC, New Day Rising, having spent close to $3 million on television ads in New Hampshire, host of the first-in-the-nation primary.
The Real Clear Politics average of national polls, meanwhile, shows Mr. Kasich running ninth, which would be good enough to make the debate stage. But Fox News has been tight-lipped about the polls it is using, frustrating some of the campaigns, as well as some members of the Republican National Committee.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Texas Gov. Rick Perry are also vying for a final spot in the Aug. 6 debate in Cleveland.
Mr. Trump, meanwhile, also leads national polls, followed by Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin and Mr. Bush.
Mr. Kasich continued to focus his attention on the Granite State Friday, touring a local business, holding a town hall meeting and walking the streets of downtown Keene before attending the house party here, where he touted his time in Congress and in the governor’s mansion in Ohio as proof that he has the chops to be president.
“I have the experience and the record, and I know how to get a lot of this done,” he said. “This is going to be very hard, but this is service for me. I don’t need a television show, I don’t want to write any books. I wouldn’t take vice president under any circumstances. This is what I am doing.”
Mr. Kasich, who has more than 25 years of public service under his belt, brushed aside the idea that he would be irritated if he is squeezed out of the debate by a political novice like Mr. Trump.
“It’s a long way to Tipperary here,” he said, alluding to the popular World War I song. “The nomination is a long and winding road. I am not too worried about who’s in or who’s out. I just do what I can do.”
The conventional wisdom is that Mr. Kasich, who some conservative activists view as too moderate, must do well here in New Hampshire, which is the second stop on the nomination calendar after the Iowa caucuses, which are dominated by social conservatives.
The New Hampshire open GOP primary allows independents to vote.
“I am going to cry if I don’t win New Hampshire,” Mr. Kasich told reporters in jest after a town hall even in Keene. “It is really, really, important because this is something that people in New Hampshire, I know they know it, but you are the screener.”
“Iowa is important, it is caucus, but here, it is like anybody can vote, right?” he said. “So you are like the screener for the country and you feel people, you look at them, and then you make the decision of whether you are going to send them on. This is really critical state.”
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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