FAIRFAX, Virginia – Governor John Kasich plans three campaign events in Virginia following a weak performance in South Carolina, a conservative state the Republican presidential hopeful had largely written off.
The Kasich campaign now turns its attention to states like Virginia and Massachusetts, which hold primaries on Super Tuesday March 1 and where voters are more attentive to Kasich’s moderate message.
Kasich says he does not worry about whether he wins the 11 Super Tuesday states.
“I don’t have to win these places. I just have to hang in there and continue to gain momentum,” he said Sunday on CBS’ ‘Face the Nation.’ “We’ve risen in the national polls, we’re still strong, we’ve got good grassroots, and everybody just hang on. Things are going to settle down.”
Kasich’s campaign picked up steam with a second-place finish in New Hampshire but he finished back in the pack in South Carolina where businessman Donald Trump was the clear winner, followed by senators Marco Rubio of Florida and Ted Cruz of Texas.
Kasich was scheduled for a Monday morning town hall at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.
Kasich also planned an afternoon event in Charlottesville and another town hall at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond Monday evening.
Kasich’s appearances come two days after South Carolina’s primaries and a day after the governor signed a bill into law cutting off state funding to Planned Parenthood.