Outgoing Gov. John Kasich wasted no time after the midterm election returning to a place he got to know well in his 2016 presidential campaign.

Mr. Kasich appeared this week in New Hampshire, a trip the nonprofit Kasich for America said was to meet supporters “old and new” in a busy 24-hour swing through the state — his second in 2018. He capped off the visit as the featured speaker at a First Amendment awards ceremony.

The question on everyone’s mind: will he launch another White House bid that would again take him to New Hampshire in the months leading up to their first in the nation Republican primary?

“Will I be back? Probably. What will I be doing? Uncertain, we’ll see. But I keep getting a lot of encouragement — that’s why I keep coming back here,” Mr. Kasich was quoted as saying in the New Hampshire Union Leader.

In 2016, Mr. Kasich came in second in the New Hampshire primary behind President Donald Trump, energizing his campaign.

The Union Leader’s publisher told the audience at the awards ceremony that he should have endorsed Mr. Kasich over former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who dropped out after his poor showing in the state’s primary.

“If I ran for President, I have no idea what would happen, if the Union Leader would endorse me or not,” Mr. Kasich said.

Asked by reporters whether he would run as a third-party candidate as he’s hinted at, Mr. Kasich said all options are on the table.

“I think there’s a vast ocean in the middle. The middle has been numb, they didn’t know what to do. But they did something they haven’t done in 100 years, they voted. They turned out in unbelievable numbers to say we’ve had enough,” he said.

The Concord Monitor reported that Mr. Kasich said he doesn’t have a timeline for running.

“I don’t announce timetables because I don’t know. I have to see what the situation is and whether I could really have an impact. I don’t want to waste anybody’s time if there’s not a clear path to having a major impact,” he said.

The paper reported he kicked off his trip with a dinner Wednesday in Manchester with top advisers and staffers from the 2016 campaign. The next day he swung by the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at St. Anselm College, a stop for any candidate thinking about the White House.

While the governor was in New Hampshire, a battle was brewing in Columbus over two bills he could veto in the final days of the legislative session, a Heartbeat Bill to restrict abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected and a “stand your ground” gun bill.

Blade wire services contributed to this report.

First Published November 17, 2018, 3:07 a.m.