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Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who has said he doesn't "try to win a vote using God," is now airing a new ad highlighting his faith.

(AP Photo/Jim Cole)

COLUMBUS, Ohio--Republican presidential candidate John Kasich has said he won't use God to win votes, but a new campaign ad focuses on his faith.

"My parents were killed by drunk driver, but my parents did not die in vain," the Ohio governor says in the ad, aimed at South Carolina's sizable evangelical population. "I was transformed. I discovered my purpose by discovering the Lord. I believe the Lord put us on this Earth to use the gifts that we've been given to bring about a healing. And that's the motivation for me."

Last week, Kasich said, "I don't go out and try to win a vote using God. I think that cheapens God. But people know I'm a man of faith... I never have felt there was any vote I couldn't get."

Asked about the contrast, Kasich campaign spokesman Rob Nichols noted that the governor wrote a book about his Bible study in suburban Columbus.

As for Kasich's earlier comments about using God, Nichols said, "What he's talking about is using it as a weapon."

It's certainly not the first time the governor, an Anglican, has referenced his faith. In 2013, he invoked "the Good Book" and referenced St. Peter at Heaven's gates when lobbying Republican state lawmakers to vote for Medicaid expansion.