Ohio Governor John Kasich is holding onto second place in the latest polls ahead of the New Hampshire Primary, with his ground game proving its a strategy that could work.

Kasich celebrated his 75th town hall in this week in the granite state. The Republican presidential candidate is completely sidestepping Iowa in hopes of garnering enough voter support to catapult his campaign into the spring.

"I've just always felt you build your ground game, you build a foundation, first floor, second floor and then at some point, you get the house done," Kasich said.

Kasich says he's close to finishing his house. His plan is to continue to hold town halls and make stops up until the primary on February 9. 

Kasich's latest newspaper endorsement comes from the Boston Globe.

Journalists documenting his every move says they're not surprised by the support.

"The voters here, especially the ones that will vote in the Republican primary, they can be independents, they can be democrats," Henry Gomez said, political reporter with Cleveland.com. 

Gomez has covered the governor for the past several years and describes Kasich as a moderate centrist Republican, which could be an advantage in a state like New Hampshire.

"Some Republicans would consider him liberal on some of the issues, so people who are open minded, respond to his message," Gomez said.

His clear path for a stronger U.S. economy starts with a balanced budget. It's a message he won't deviate from, even during debates, even as his opponents moving in to heat up their campaigns. 

"There's no question that we're rising," Kasich said, when reflecting on the latest Monmouth University poll. "The question is what happen here, because now a bunch of people are beating me up ... if we can hold on, I think we're going to do extremely well here."

Decision day is February 10. That's when Kasich says he will sit down with his team to assess a campaign beyond the borders of New Hampshire.

"I don't want to string this along if there's no chance of winning, I like my job as governor," he said.

Whether or not he does go on, Kasich has volunteers on the ground for the next round of primaries in South Carolina and Nevada.

One thing keeping him going-- the support from the Buckeye State.

"I just hope the people continue to put their confidence and to root for me, it makes me feel good to know I have support at home," he said.