Kasich insists a path exists for him to win the nomination if he runs. Such a path surely relies on a lackluster performance by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, along with a Kasich win in New Hampshire, where the campaign’s living-room meetings remind the governor of his nine successful campaigns for Congress.

“The doubters are not experts,” Kasich said last week.

“Are the believers experts?” an Enquirer reporter asked him.

“Uh, yeah, pretty much,” he said.

After July 21, Kasich would have about two weeks to boost his polling numbers ahead of the GOP’s first presidential debate in Cleveland on Aug. 6.