When John Kasich was 30-years-old, the year was 1982. He was running for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. He had already won and served as state senator for Ohio’s 15th district. At 26-years-old, he was the youngest person ever elected to the Ohio senate.
After serving fours years as a state senator, he ran for U.S. Congress in Ohio’s 12th district. He won that race as well. Ohio’s 12th district includes parts of Columbus and it’s surrounding cities. It is clear that John Kasich is a career politician with an impressive resume.
Kasich served as a congressman for eight consecutive terms, for a total of 18 years. He was considered a fiscal conservative, working with Ralph Nader to reduce corporate tax loopholes. He was also a member of the Armed Services Committee for all 18 years, and he “zealously challenged” defense spending which he considered wasteful.
In 1993, Kasich became the ranking Republican member of the House Budget Committee. During that time he worked on legislation to reduce the national deficit. He also proposed a health care plan in opposition to the Clinton health care plan of 1993. Kasich’s plan was not unlike the Affordable Care Act, and would have required people to purchase health insurance through their employers.
In 1999, Kasich decided not to seek re-election to the House. Instead, he formed an exploratory committee to run for the Republican presidential nomination in the year 2000. Due to poor funding, he dropped out of the race in July of 1999.
After his first failed bid for the Republican nomination, he entered the price sector and served on the board of directors for several corporations.
In 2010, he ran for and was elected to be Governor of Ohio. He was re-elected in 2014 and he is still Ohio’s governor today.
John Kasich began his political career early and achieved much during his political career. Currently, he remains a candidate for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination. After his victory in the Ohio primary, will voters become inspired by his record, or will they continue to be turned off by exactly the type of establishment politician that he represents?
Featured image via The Hustle.
