Fresh off a surprise second-place finish in New Hampshire and making a Michigan swing, John Kasich promised voters on Monday night that he’d slash tax rates, unwind federal regulations, reform the Pentagon, and turn education over to the states. | AP Photo ‘President’ Kasich’s first 100 days After finishing second in New Hampshire, he showed a bit of swagger in Michigan by laying out plans for a ‘shock and awe’ start to the presidency.

LIVONIA, MICH.— John Kasich feels confident enough in his presidential campaign that he’s already touting plans for his first 100 days in office.

Fresh off a surprise second-place finish in New Hampshire and making a Michigan swing, Kasich promised voters on Monday night that he’d slash tax rates, unwind federal regulations, reform the Pentagon, and turn education over to the states.


He even has a name for it: “I call it shock and awe.”

Speaking to a crowd of roughly 500, Kasich took questions on everything from Obamacare to climate change to ISIS during a two-day sprint through Michigan at four town hall-style gatherings over the course of roughly 36 hours.

His plan for winning a shot at those 100 days? Kasich hopes capitalize on his New Hampshire showing to introduce himself to voters who may not have previously considered him. In particular, the campaign is trying to sell people in delegate-rich Midwestern states like Michigan, Ohio, and Illinois on Kasich’s brand of affability and his tenure as a two-term Ohio governor.

“I’ve gotta do well up here,” Kasich said. “Can we just commit that we’ll leave this Ohio State-Michigan thing behind until we get through the primary?” he joked, referencing the neighboring states’ college football rivalry.

Kasich is also casting himself as a common-sense Republican in Michigan amid the Republican field’s backbiting—as an heir to Ronald Reagan and as a compassionate conservative who feels as comfortable talking about helping the poor as he does cutting taxes.

Kasich needs Michigan voters to buy into his sensibility to keep his presidential ambitions alive. Already, his campaign is downplaying its expectations for any major upsets in the upcoming contest in South Carolina. There, national polls consistently show him trailing Donald Trump, Sen. Ted Cruz, and Sen. Marco Rubio. The campaign hopes that the still-crowded Republican field will winnow after South Carolina and Nevada contests, leaving more room for Kasich to potentially emerge.

Since Kasich came in second in the New Hampshire primary on Feb. 9, his campaign says it has raised over $1 million online in less than one week. (For context, Democratic Sen. Bernie Sanders raised $6.4 million in the 24 hours following New Hampshire). Campaign officials believe that money can sustain it through the March primary contests in the Midwest.

The crowds at Kasich events have grown, too, in recent days. New Hampshire town halls of anywhere from six to 100 people now have turned into packed, standing-room only events in Michigan. The Kasich camp just hired a Michigan-based operative to up their ground game, with enough funds and latitude to hire dozens of Michigan-based campaign workers to knock on doors and help to get out the vote.

During a stop in Macomb County, Michigan, roughly 40 miles north of Detroit, roughly 500 potential voters crowded into the local Republican County offices in a former Dress Barn store in a strip mall. Voters said they came because they were curious about Kasich’s experience in government as a governor of a neighboring state and as a former House member, where they believed he worked well with others.

“He is more down-to-earth than the other guys who seem to only be in it for the money,” said 64-year-old retired military contractor and Army veteran, Wes Glasgow, who praised Kasich’s tenure in the House, where he worked on budget issues and foreign affairs.

Voters were also attracted to his experience as a governor. “I like what he has done with the state of Ohio. What is Ohio doing right that we are doing wrong here?” said 54-year-old Sue Geren, 54, a waitress from Macomb, Mich.

What sold her on Kasich, ultimately though, was his positive attitude within the GOP field and his lack of name-calling. “Trump is not a politician, and Cruz has too many enemies in the Senate,” Geren added. “He cannot cut deals with people he has angered.”