John Kasich’s New Hampshire Primary Day Prediction: ‘We’re Going to Finish Very Strong’
MANCHESTER, New Hampshire -- Ohio Gov. John Kasich, whose campaign has maintained a laser-like focus on performing well in today’s New Hampshire primary, declined to predict exactly how he would place once all the votes are counted here, but sounded a note of confidence in an interview today on "Good Morning America."
"We’re going to finish very strong," he told ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos. "I’m not like Muhammad Ali; I can’t predict, you know, exactly what round or whatever."
Kasich noted that he has already dispatched his campaign bus to South Carolina and on Monday his campaign released a schedule of events the Republican Ohio governor is expected to attend in that state. This morning, he also dismissed the notion that his campaign lacks the financial or organizational heft to plow ahead to the next round of primaries.
"People have counted me out all of my career," he said. "I hope they keep underestimating me because there was another guy they underestimated all the time. His name was Reagan."
Kasich was also relishing his performance in the tiny town of Dixville Notch, New Hampshire, which traditionally votes at midnight on Primary Day. Kasich received three votes compared to two for rival Donald Trump. (Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders received four votes out of the total nine cast).
Kasich said he called every voter in the northern New Hampshire enclave.
The latest polls have showed him on the rise. A University of Massachusetts-Lowell New Hampshire tracking poll released Monday had Kasich at 10 percent, tied with former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and behind rivals Trump, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz.
Kasich, who said he has held more than 100 town hall meetings in the state, said he is seeing enthusiasm.
"Last night, we were out there in a driving snowstorm, probably three, four hundred people standing out there cheering,” he said. “It was like a movie set.”
