MANCHESTER, N.H. — Ohio Gov. John Kasich has finished second in New Hampshire’s Republican presidential primary.
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There’s a tight race for third among Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. It’s still too close to call right now.
Kasich emerged from the pack of candidates to finish behind billionaire businessman Donald Trump on Tuesday night with 16 percent of the vote, compared iwth Trump’s 35 percent, despite what Kasich’s campaign claims was about $7 million in negative ads targeting at him.
His campaign staff says Kasich’s positive vision appealed to voters in the state.
“He showed that a conservative with a positive message will succeed and, in fact, that’s the only way for Republicans to win the White House,” said senior strategist John Weaver.
Kasich’s campaign manager says he expects an increased flow of contributions to the candidate’s campaign after the strong showing.
The campaign says it’s hoping Kasich will pick delegates in the early primaries and then win in Michigan, which they say will allow him to take a strong position heading into the Midwest, his home turf.
The governor wasted no time in moving on to South Carolina, which holds its primary on Feb. 20. He had three campaign events scheduled on Wednesday.