Ohio Gov. John Kasich's moderate views and positive message helped him stitch together enough votes to emerge as the second place finisher Tuesday in New Hampshire's Republican primary.
Kasich said he wanted to avoid the negative tone of his opponents, and that approach seems to have paid off, according to the NBC News Exit Poll. While Donald Trump tended to win most voter groups, Kasich did better than the rest of the field among Republicans who are dissatisfied but not necessarily angry with Washington (21 percent); among Republicans who are somewhat rather than very worried about the economy (27 percent); and among GOP voters who are somewhat rather than very worried about a terrorist attack (23 percent).
Kasich was able to close the deal among one in five voters (21 percent) who made up their minds in the last few days and those who value political experience over outsider status (28 percent).
On the issues, Kasich did better than everyone except Trump among voters who rate the economy as their most important concern (24 percent); among those who oppose a ban on Muslims traveling to the U.S. (26 percent); and among Republicans who support giving undocumented immigrants the opportunity to apply for legal status (23 percent).
Kasich also did well among self-described moderates (27 percent), voters who have a post-graduate degree (22 percent) and voters who don't own a gun (21 percent).
This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com.