Jeb Bush's biggest threat isn't Trump, it's Kasich

(Image credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images)

published 28 August 2015

Jeb Bush better watch his back — and not just for Donald Trump's incessant stabs. While Bush and Trump have been noisily duking it out, another Republican presidential contender has been "quietly rising in the polls in New Hampshire," The Hill reports. That candidate? Ohio Gov. John Kasich.

With many an eye in the Republican Party turned to Trump's antics and Bush's reactions to said antics, Kasich has been "capitalizing on a strong debate performance," as evidenced by his second place showing in New Hampshire in a Public Policy Polling survey released this week. Moreover, the PPP poll also showed that Kasich might just be Hillary Clinton's toughest competition in the state.

Kasich's numbers are potentially bad news for Bush. The Hill reports that if Kasich manages to top Bush in New Hampshire, that could shake up the remainder of the primary. "Of all the candidates out there in terms of corralling the establishment voters, Kasich is a clear and present danger of taking them," Republican strategist Ford O'Connell told The Hill. While Bush won't be an easy one to beat, O'Connell said, "if [Kasich] can actually win New Hampshire, then the game board changes."