John Richard Kasich (born May 13, 1952) is an American politician and the 69th and current Governor of Ohio, elected to the office in 2010 and reelected in the 2014 election. On July 21, 2015, he announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for president in 2016.
Kasich served nine terms as a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Ohio's 12th congressional district from 1983 to 2001. His tenure in the House included 18 years on the House Armed Services Committee and six years as chairman of the House Budget Committee, and he was a key figure in passage of both welfare reform and the Balanced Budget Act of 1997.
He was a commentator on Fox News Channel, hosting Heartland with John Kasich from 2001 to 2007. He also worked as an investment banker, as managing director of Lehman Brothers' Columbus, Ohio office.
In the 2010 Ohio gubernatorial election, Kasich defeated Democratic incumbent Ted Strickland, 49% to 47% in one of Ohio's closest gubernatorial elections. He was re-elected in 2014, defeating Democrat Ed FitzGerald, the County Executive of Cuyahoga County, 64% to 33% and winning all but two counties, Athens and Monroe.
Governor Kasich believes in returning authority to the states. He especially emphasizes the necessity of balancing the federal budget, citing his leadership in the last time the budget was balanced in the nineties, as well the budget of Ohio. In a move contrary to many other republican governors, he accepted the Medicare expansion offered through the Affordable Care Act.
Governor Kasich has not offered as staunch opposition to the Iranian Nuclear Deal, saying he would not have approved of it as President, but that he would not undo it on day one of his presidency. He generally pursues a more multi-lateral foreign policy. He strongly supports the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal.
Governor Kasich advocates for the destruction of ISIS through the air and through the construction of an international coalition. He has stood up to Russia, claiming that we need to “punch them in the nose”.
He believes that it is logistically impossible to deport all the people here illegally, and has endorsed some form of legal status for those here illegally.
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