John Kasich says he plans to 're-shine' and 'restore the spirit of America'

(Image credit: Dominick Reuter/AFP/Getty Images)

last updated 10 February 2016

Ohio Gov. John Kasich said his second-place finish in the New Hampshire Republican primary showed that "the light overcame the darkness of negative campaigning."

His rivals spent "tens of millions" going against him, he declared, and his campaign "never went negative because we have more good to sell than to spend our time being critical of someone else." Kasich told his volunteers they were his "insurance policy," and he didn't know how to thank them for the "countless hours, the phone calls, the door knocking." He also said there was "magic in the air" because his campaign was an "opportunity for all of us to be involved in something that is bigger than our own lives, to change America, to re-shine America, to restore the spirit of America, and to leave no one behind."

Kasich urged people to listen to one another, to "just slow down, look 'em in the eye, give them a hug." He said by spending time in New Hampshire, he learned "what it takes for someone to be a leader. It's not just what's up in the head, it's also what's deep in the heart." At the end of the speech, he did get in a few digs against the Democratic candidates, bringing up Hillary Clinton's second place finish and saying Bernie Sanders' victory speech was so long he "thought he was gonna hit his 77th birthday before he left the stage." Catherine Garcia

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

Subscribe to The Week

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox