John Kasich said Monday that he doesn't "overemphasize the debates," and doesn't feel that his chances at winning in New Hampshire have shifted as a result of Saturday night's arguments.
"We felt we were rising," the Ohio governor and GOP presidential candidate told CNN's
"New Day" program. "We were in second place in most polls. It is built on an amazing thing, grassroots organization.
"You can't believe hundreds of people knocking doors. I don't mean like 200. I mean more than that. People have flown in and driven in from all over the country. We have a great team in New Hampshire."
In Sunday's edition of
The Washington Post, an op-ed piece by conservative columnist Jennifer Rubin maintained that Kasich and fellow candidate Jeb Bush should benefit by fellow candidate Chris Christie's attacks on Marco Rubio, but the Ohio governor said it's his ground game that's really starting to help his campaign.
"I think the debate helped me because people got to see more of my personality and like they are seeing with this interview," said Kasich. "At the end of the day I put my trust in the people on the ground."
Meanwhile, he said his campaign is looking ahead to the next contests.
"One of our key stars from Iowa is now in South Carolina," he said. "We have people there. We have been working there. We are fine."
Kasich also had relatively kind words about his co-candidates, insisting there are none he wants to call a "dummy" or other names.
"Anybody wanting to work day and night, having the anxiety of having to raise money and 50,000 polls come out and all of that, anybody that goes through that, why would you want to call them a name?" he said.
"There are some people you might want to call a name, but they are not the people that are competing against you. I'm not telling you who it is. I have been very happy with this. I have had a great time."