Kasich presents challenge to Bush

Associated Press

PETERBOROUGH, N.H.

Even at his own rallies, Republican presidential candidate John Kasich is a stranger to some New Hampshire voters.

Karen Bednarski, who packed into one of the Ohio governor’s three New Hampshire appearances last week, says she learned about his presidential bid for the first time “within the last week.”

“What I’ve heard I like,” Bednarski, a 48-year-old Republican-leaning independent from Peterborough, said just before Kasich walked into the room.

It may not matter that many in the audience didn’t know how to pronounce his name, didn’t remember his 18 years in Congress and hadn’t heard about his overwhelming re-election last year in one of the nation’s premiere swing states. Even as a mystery, Kasich has emerged as a legitimate threat to his better-known Republican rivals – former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush in particular – whose presidential aspirations are focused on New Hampshire.

“I’ve always been underestimated,” Kasich said, describing himself as “the little engine that keeps saying that it can.”

Kasich is among a handful of Republican White House hopefuls betting they can capitalize on the first-in-the-nation primary state’s tendency to favor pragmatic leaders over party ideologues. Beyond Kasich and Bush, it’s a group that includes New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former New York Gov. George Pataki and perhaps Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, whose libertarian leanings resonate in the state whose official motto is “live free or die.”

It is a powerful collection of candidates targeting the same slice of the electorate among a larger field of 17 major Republican contenders. Coming off a strong performance in the first GOP debate, however, Kasich has shown signs of momentum. And Bush’s team has taken notice.

Kasich has just four paid staffers in the state compared with Bush’s seven. Yet Kasich recently has acquired two well-respected surrogates volunteering on his behalf: former Sen. John E. Sununu and former state Attorney General Tom Rath.