John Kasich

John Richard Kasich
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Ohio's 12thdistrict In office
1983– 2001Preceded by Robert N. ShamanskySucceeded by Patrick J. TiberiBorn May 13, 1952(1952-05-13) (age 56)
McKees Rocks, PennsylvaniaPolitical party RepublicanReligion Roman Catholic

John Richard Kasich (born May 13, 1952, McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania) is a former Republican United States Representative who is now a television show host for FOX News Channel. He formerly hosted Heartland with John Kasich and also guest hosts The O'Reilly Factor, filling in for Bill O'Reilly when necessary.

1 Personal
2 Political career
3 See also
4 References
5 External links

Personal

A native of McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, Kasich graduated from The Ohio State University in 1974 with a B.A. in political science. He was a member of Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity.

Kasich was raised in the Roman Catholic Church but reconsidered his faith after his parents were killed in an automobile crash in 1987. [1] He now attends a non-denominational evangelical Christian Church. Kasich married the former Karen Waldbillig in 1997 and has twin daughters.

Political career

After college, Kasich served as a legislative aide to Ohio State Senator Donald "Buz" Lukens. In 1978 he was elected to the Ohio State Senate when he served until he was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1982, defeating incumbent Bob Shamansky. Kasich was reelected eight times, serving from 1983 to 2001.[2] Kasich was fiscally conservative, taking aim at programs supported by Republicans and Democrats, teaming up with Rep. Ron Dellums to cut spending on the B-2 Bomber and Ralph Nader in seeking to reduce corporate tax loopholes.[3] [1]

In 1993, he became the Ranking Republican on the House Budget Committee where he authored an alternative to President Bill Clinton's deficit reduction plan that he presented as relying on spending reductions rather than tax increases. Later that year, the Penny-Kasich Plan failed by only six votes to cut federal spending by an additional $90 billion on top of the deficit reduction forecasted by President Clinton.[4]

After 1994, Republicans became the majority party in the United States Congress and Kasich became Chairman of the House Budget Committee where one of his stated goals was working towards a balanced budget. Kasich also served as chair of the congressional committee on welfare reform. In 1994, Kasich was called in by Republicans who supported President's Clinton's Omnibus Crime Bill of 1994 to assist in helping to reduce the overall cost. His support of the bill helped it pass the House, but provisions that outlawed some firearms did not win him fans among gun rights supporters. [5]

During the 1996 presidential campaign, Republican nominee Bob Dole was reported to have considered Kasich as a vice presidential running mate but instead selected Jack Kemp, a former congressman and HUD Secretary.[6] However, during his 1996 re-election campaign Kasich's Democratic opponent in his House race, Cynthia Ruccia, made comments regarding Kasich's sexuality in an attempt to damage him with conservative voters. Ruccia raised the question of the propriety of bachelor Kasich sharing a Washington townhouse with his male chief-of-staff. He nonetheless won the 1996 election and subsequently married in March of 1997.[7]

He did not seek reelection for the House for the 2000 election, but instead formed an exploratory committee to run for President.[8] He withdrew early in July 1999 and endorsed George W. Bush, the eventual Republican nominee and winner of the election.[9]

He took a job as managing director of the investment banking division of Lehman Brothers in 2001.[10] Kasich is currently chairman of the New Century Project.

Republicans tried to recruit Kasich for Governor of Ohio in 2006; however Kasich was not interested in the race.[11]

Kasich is now thinking about making a serious run for Governor of Ohio in 2010, seeking the Republican nomination to unseat incumbent Ted Strickland. [12]

Kasich is the author of two books: Courage is Contagious was published in 1998 and made the New York Times bestseller list. [13] His second book, Stand for Something: The Battle for America's Soul was published in 2006.