John Kasich
John Richard Kasich Jr. (/ˈkeɪsɪk/ KAY-sik; born May 13, 1952) is an American politician and author who was the 69th governor of Ohio from 2011 to 2019, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 to 2001, and a Republican candidate for the presidential nomination in 2000 and 2016.
John Kasich | |
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Official portrait, 2011 | |
| 69th Governor of Ohio | |
| In office January 10, 2011 – January 14, 2019 | |
| Lieutenant | Mary Taylor |
| Preceded by | Ted Strickland |
| Succeeded by | Mike DeWine |
| Chair of the House Budget Committee | |
| In office January 3, 1995 – January 3, 2001 | |
| Preceded by | Martin Olav Sabo |
| Succeeded by | Jim Nussle |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio's 12th district | |
| In office January 3, 1983 – January 3, 2001 | |
| Preceded by | Bob Shamansky |
| Succeeded by | Pat Tiberi |
| Member of the Ohio Senate from the 15th district | |
| In office January 1, 1979 – January 1, 1983 | |
| Preceded by | Robert O'Shaughnessy |
| Succeeded by | Richard Pfeiffer |
| Personal details | |
| Born | John Richard Kasich Jr. May 13, 1952 McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Ohio State University (BA) |
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Presidential campaigns
Pre-governorship
Governor of Ohio
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Kasich was born and grew up in McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, and moved to Ohio in 1970 to attend college. After a single term in the Ohio Senate, he served nine terms as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio's 12th congressional district. His tenure in the House included 18 years on the House Armed Services Committee and six years as chairman of the House Budget Committee. Kasich was a key figure in the passage of both 1996 welfare reform legislation and the Balanced Budget Act of 1997. Kasich decided not to run for re-election in 2000 and ran for president instead. He withdrew from the race before the Republican primaries.
After leaving Congress, Kasich hosted Heartland with John Kasich on Fox News from 2001 to 2007 and served as managing director of the Lehman Brothers office in Columbus, Ohio. He ran for governor of Ohio in 2010, defeating Democratic incumbent Ted Strickland. He was re-elected in 2014, defeating Democratic challenger Ed FitzGerald by 30 percentage points. Kasich was term-limited and could not seek a third gubernatorial term in 2018; he was succeeded by fellow Republican Mike DeWine.
Kasich ran for president again in 2016, finishing in fourth place in the Republican primaries behind Donald Trump, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio. He won the primary in his home state of Ohio and finished second in New Hampshire. Kasich declined to support Trump as the Republican presidential nominee and did not attend the 2016 Republican National Convention, which was held in Ohio. From 2019 to 2023, Kasich was a CNN contributor. Since March 2023, he has been an analyst on NBC News. Kasich is known as one of Trump's most prominent critics within the Republican Party, and he endorsed Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden for president in a speech at the 2020 Democratic National Convention.