John Kasich hits Jeb Bush for "being negative"
At a steel plant in South Carolina Thursday, John Kasich declared, "I might be president." It was as if that realization had just hit the Ohio governor, who believes his positive campaign and dedicated team propelled him to an unexpected second place finish in New Hampshire's GOP primary.
"I shocked everybody. And I'll tell you how I shocked them. I, like, had normal people helping me. And they banged on doors and they walked in the snow. One guy made 10,000 phone calls. His ears really look bad," Kasich joked.
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That was just one of Kasich's six Palmetto state events over the past few days, where he is running his self-described "sunny side of the street" campaign. On this bright Thursday morning, however, Kasich used his pedestal on the carpet of Applewood House of Pancakes in Pawleys Island to offer a new criticism of Jeb Bush.
"I mean I'm worried about Jeb, it's all negative. How the heck can you sell negative? You know, I want to talk about what I'm for, my vision, my view, my positive," Kasich told the packed pancake house. Bush has often called himself a "happy warrior" on the campaign trail.
Kasich implied that this negative energy -- which has been primarily directed at Donald Trump -- could smear the Bush family name.
"Jeb's spending all this time being negative. Does he worry at all about his legacy? Everything is trashing people. I mean, even Trump -- I read that today -- Trump's like, you know, all this guy does is attack," Kasich said to reporters.
The Bush campaign has "all the joy of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre," said a top Kasich strategist to reporters in a phone call later in the day.
Yet the battle between Bush and Kasich isn't just about tone. Bush also went after Kasich Wednesday for using federal funds under Obamacare to expand Medicaid in Ohio.
"I wouldn't be proud of it to be honest with you," Bush said. Calling this a sign of "desperation," a Kasich top strategists pushed back and countered that Florida's spending on Medicaid increased significantly while Bush was governor.
Beyond this instance, however, Kasich did not dwell on his GOP opponents.
Instead he cast himself as a a "Kasich Republican" who would be able to get the wheels turning on real change in Washington. He said he wouldn't "change his identity" for South Carolina, even though people had warned him that the conservative state would require it.
But Kasich did temper expectations for his performance in the state.
"We will do as well as we can here, and then we're moving on and you know I'm really looking forward to the South and I'm really looking forward to the Midwest, and I can't wait to get to Michigan," Kasich said on Wednesday.
South Carolinian GOP strategists say he is trying to "play the delegate game" in picking up enough votes in counties along the coast, where a swath of more moderate Republicans reside. But he'll be competing with Rubio and Bush for those votes against establishment-friendly Republican votes, too.
For some South Carolinians, Kasich's strong finish in New Hampshire is inspiring them to jump on board.
"I like what he did in Ohio, and he may not have the ground game here that he has in New Hampshire, but he has a good message," explained Bob Holzel, a 82-year-old retired New Yorker who moved to South Carolina 20 years ago. He voted for George W. Bush in the 2000 South Carolina primary, but Holzel thinks the family name now hurts Jeb Bush.
"If five percent don't vote for [Jeb Bush] because of his name, he won't win. So I don't think he can make it," Holzel explained.
Leading up to the South Carolina GOP primary next week Kasich will not spend every day in the state, but he plans to return for a final push right before South Carolinians go to the polls. Over the last few days, he has said that his success lies in their hands.
"Give me a chance to take this to America," Kasich said to over 275 people in Florence, South Carolina Thursday. "If I can't do that, I am blaming you."