[Updated May 15, 2015.] If Ohio Gov. John Kasich decides to run for president, he could make a compelling case: He is a two-term governor from the ultimate bellwether battleground state. Ohio’s unemployment rate (5.1 percent in March 2015) is below the national average. And his state’s budget is balanced.
Governor Kasich also brings extensive Washington experience to the table. He served in Congress for 18 years, rising to the chairmanship of the House Budget Committee. He also served 18 years on the House Armed Services Committee.
But Kasich also bucks party orthodoxy at times. He expanded Medicaid in his state under the Affordable Care Act, and supports the Common Core education standards. And he can be abrasive.
At a luncheon hosted by The Christian Science Monitor on May 1, 2015, Kasich sounded like a man ready to run for president. “I think we are at this point optimistic that we’ll have the resources to move forward,” Kasich said.
The last time Kasich ran for president, in the 2000 cycle, he couldn’t raise the money and dropped out early.
