It's go time for John Kasich.

Blanked in the first 20 Republican presidential nominating contests, the Ohio governor is desperate for a breakout performance Tuesday night in Michigan and a win next week in his home state. That's because even if he pulls it off — no guarantee when polls show him down by double digits to Donald Trump in Michigan and statistically tied with the mogul at home — his advisers rarely mention what's likely to come next: another six weeks of winless hell.

That's because Kasich won't have another chance at a marquee day until April 26, when five northeastern states — including Pennsylvania, where he grew up — hold Republican primaries. In the meantime, Arizona, Utah and New York will hold contests that could leave him further behind his rivals. Wisconsin, another Midwestern opportunity, votes in the interim as well, but Kasich hasn't touted the state as an opportunity and recent polls there still show him dramatically behind.

The rough map for Kasich underscores the challenge he faces in his quest to become the Republican nominee. Kasich isn't playing to win anymore. He's attempting to survive long enough to outlast Marco Rubio as the Republican establishment's choice to face Donald Trump and Ted Cruz in a contested national convention in July. Every time he racks up losses, his case to emerge as the consensus choice at a convention diminishes. And after hyping his chances in Ohio, a string of losses would be deflating.