Ohio Gov. John Kasich's campaign is starting to show more signs of life in Georgia.
New Day for America, the super PAC supporting the Republican's bid for the White House, has tapped GOP operative Jared Thomas to run the campaign in Georgia. Thomas ran Ralph Reed's 2006 campaign for lieutenant governor and was Secretary of State Brian Kemp's top aide until he left in 2015 for a private sector gig.
Kasich and his allies long focused the brunt of their attention on New Hampshire, blanketing the state with ads in between the more than 100 town hall meetings Kasich held throughout the state. But his supporters are trying to make the most of his second-place surge in the Granite State.
The Ohioan has so far clung to his upbeat message in South Carolina, where Republicans face a Feb. 20 primary, despite the state's reputation for bare-knuckle politics. Yet he's facing new attacks from adversaries over his knack for compromising with Democrats, including a decision to expand Medicaid in Ohio - a policy that leaders across the conservative South have vigorously fought.
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush this week said Kasich "led the charge" to expand the program in Ohio. "He can defend that all he wants, but that's the difference," Bush said.
Kasich's campaign in Georgia has little of the organization that rivals Donald Trump and Ted Cruz boast. But the campaign has lined up John Watson, an influential Republican operative and former top aide to Gov. Sonny Perdue, as its co-chairman in Georgia. Senate Majority Leader Bill Cowsert, state Sen. Fran Millar and Sandy Springs Mayor Rusty Paul have also endorsed.
The campaign said to expect more announcements in Georgia and the sweep of states voting March 1 in the so-called SEC primary.
"We have strong structures in a lot of those states that will be supplemented with paid staff and large amounts of grassroots volunteers very quickly," said campaign spokesman Rob Nichols.
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