Bush and Kasich campaign

Ohio Gov. John Kasich, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.

(Star-Ledger file photos)

WASHINGTON -- Ohio Gov. John Kasich, competing with Gov. Chris Christie for the same pool of more moderate Republican presidential voters, said his record far surpassed that of his rival.

"Here in Ohio, we have a balanced budget," Kasich said Sunday on "Meet the Press" on NBC. "They don't over in New Jersey. Our credit has been strengthened. Their credit has been downgraded. We've got more jobs."

Kasich, Christie and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush are seeking support and donations from the Republican establishment, and all have pinned their hopes on a strong performance in New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation primary on Feb. 9.

Christie has talked about ability to work with a Democratic-controlled legislature in New Jersey. While Kasich has a Republican legislature in Ohio, he cited his work on balancing the federal budget under a Democratic president, Bill Clinton.

"Always the hit is, well, you know, he has a Republican legislature, but I was chairman of the budget committee when we balanced the budget and Bill Clinton was president," Kasich said.

Christie, speaking on "Fox News Sunday," touted his own success as governor.

The state "has had the best job growth year in the private sector it's had in 15 years, the best year since 2000," Christie said. "I've done better than the last five governors have done in New Jersey in terms of job creation."

A Quinnipiac University poll in October gave Kasich a 62 percent job approval rating, his highest ever, with 29 percent disapproving. A Rutgers-Eagleton poll released in December said 62 percent of New Jersey voters disapproved of Christie's performance in office, his highest negative rating ever, while just 33 percent approved, a new low.

"The fact is whenever you're looking for a new job, your current employer gets a little miffed," Christie said on Fox. "I get that. I was honest with the people in New Jersey, I told them there was a possibility I would run for president. And so I've told them the truth and if they're a little miffed now I completely understand that."

Kasich and Bush have turned their fire on Christie recently as polls show the New Jersey governor leading both of them in New Hampshire. The Real Clear Politics average of surveys from Dec. 13-20 gave Christie 11.3 percent, placing him in fourth place behind businessman Donald Trump (26.3 percent) and U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida (13.3 percent) and Ted Cruz of Texas (12 percent).

Kasich was fifth with 9.7 percent and Bush sixth with 7.7 percent.

Bush's aligned super political action committee, Right to Rise, released an ad contrasting the three past and current governors. A spokeswoman for the Kasich-allied super PAC, New Day For America, criticized both Bush and Christie in her response.

"We welcome a comparison with Governors Bush and Christie, but what Team Jeb has failed to address is the political baggage dragging behind Bush and Christie," spokeswoman Connie Wehrkamp said. "The country doesn't have an appetite for another Bush or another Clinton, for that matter. As for Governor Christie, his mishandling of his state budget and the

have earned him a 60 percent

un

favorable rating from those who know him best - the people of New Jersey. Compare that to Governor Kasich who has no baggage, a huge budget surplus and has earned a 62 percent approval rating in Ohio, a must-win state in the general election."

What all three candidates agreed on Sunday was that they didn't need to finish first in New Hampshire to continue their quests for the Republican presidential nomination.

"The fact is we just need to do well there, and we need to do well in Iowa, too, and I think we'll do well in both places." Christie said. "And then we'll be able to move on."

Kasich said he wanted to "be the story" coming out of New Hampshire. "If I'm a story, I believe I'll win the nomination if I come out of New Hampshire in a strong position," he said on NBC.

As for Bush, he told Fox: "I have no control over how you measure, you know, who's up and who's down. I'm going to focus on doing the best I can. I believe we're going to do really well in New Hampshire and that's my goal. I have a campaign organization in every state of the country. We're going to be on the ballot everywhere. This could go a long, long way."

Chris Christie meets New Hampshire voters 29 Gallery: Chris Christie meets New Hampshire voters

Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.