The Ohio governor said he will have “more to say” next week on a new 527 tax-exempt nonprofit he’s just created, called New Day for America, which could legally function as an exploratory committee.

“Think about me, would you,” Kasich told a packed ballroom at a New Hampshire Republican Party event that has drawn all the major presidential candidates. “Don’t commit too soon. Let us all have a chance to breathe and get out.”

Kasich reflected on his ill-fated 2000 run for president against George W. Bush and said this time would be different. He said he looks forward to spending more time in the first primary state, visiting people in their homes.

The request to keep their powder dry came after Kasich delivered a long recitation of his two decades in the House and five years as governor. A man in the audience at the Crowne Plaza stood up to say he’s feeling pressure from other campaigns to get behind someone early.

“You want me to run again; I hear you,” Kasich replied. “I’m trying to figure out what the Lord wants me to do with my life. He has a purpose for everyone in this room. I want to fulfill my purpose. Life is short. In the next world, I’ll be accountable for what I do here.”

Kasich promised he will not be driven by polls or consultants if he gets in the race.

“At the end of the day, if I feel this is my call, I will come back again and again and again,” he said. “In the meantime, I’m not going to change my message. I’m not going to ignore people in need. I want them to get on their feet. I’m not going to ignore the tough choices this country needs to make.”

“I can fight with the best of them,” he added. “I could come in here and spend the whole speech just blasting Barack Obama … That’s not what I want to do.”

Kasich told the crowd that he has foreign policy experience from serving on the House Armed Services Committee. He talked about balancing the budget in the 1990s and said he’s gotten Ohio on the right track since defeating Ted Strickland in 2010.

“Whether I run for president or not, I want you think about this because Ohio is a microcosm of America,” he said.

Kasich made a heavy electability pitch, suggesting he could carry the Buckeye State. “We wait three days for the election results from Ohio; I won almost 64% of the vote [in my 2014 reelection],” he said.

He also touted his humble roots, the son of a mailman and the grandson of a coal miner.

On policy, Kasich criticized his own party for blowing a multi-trillion surplus after he left Congress in 2001. “The Republicans spent it all and then some,” he said. “What a tragedy!”

Asked at a press conference after his speech why he would get in, Kasich said he offers a record of “inclusion, growth and common sense” in a swing state.

“I don’t think Hillary Clinton will be easy to beat,” he said. “The electoral map is very tough for Republicans. I know one thing: you can’t win the White House if you don’t win Ohio.”

Eli Stokols and Cate Martel contributed to this report.