John Kasich has been involved in the national scene since the 1980s as a U.S. congressman and popular governor from Ohio. He briefly ran for president after leaving Congress in 2000, and he is considered one of the leading GOP figures in a 2016 campaign.
Here are seven political positions that have shaped Kasich’s career:
1. Kasich has a good record on employment since becoming Ohio’s governor in 2011. He reduced taxes by more than $3 billion while decreasing state spending as the unemployment rate dropped in Ohio from 9.1 to 5.7 percent, below the national average. Kasich was able to close an $8 billion budget shortfall in his first year in office.
Urgent: Do You Support John Kasich for the GOP Nomination? Vote Here Now
2. While still governor, the former congressman has been promoting a balanced federal budget. In fact, Kasich was a member of the U.S. House that last balanced the budget in the 1990s soon after Republicans took control of Congress.
Today, he says the most crucial issue facing the country is “the need for the Congress of the United States to act responsibly and balance budgets.” Getting spending under control puts legislators in better position to deal with other issues, he said in considering his role in a 2016 presidential campaign.
3. He opposes the government-run health care concept of Obamacare, but Kasich chose to expand Medicaid under that plan to help low-income people. He pointed out that Ronald Reagan also expanded Medicaid. The program differs from a national plan in that it combines federal and local input.
Urgent: Who Should the GOP Nominate in 2016? Vote Here Now
4. A congressman from Ohio for 18 years, Kasich made his concerns for individual control of health issues known by supporting the tax-exempt Medical Savings Account plan. Self-employed people and those paying for their own insurance were allowed to take the full cost of heath insurance premiums as a tax deduction.
5. Kasich has combined faith with his fiscal approach for the accomplishments in his state. This results in caring for the needy through necessary welfare programs while making sensible choices to become business friendly to improve the employment situation and the economy. “You’ve got to help people that are downtrodden and poor, and I just think that that’s part of our culture,”
he said in October.
6. As chairman of the House Budget Committee, Kasich helped overhaul the welfare system with the 1996 Welfare Reform act. It was designed to take people off the welfare system and place them into the workforce. His focus on the needy and improving business could benefit a 2016 presidential run.
7. Kasich also worked with members of Congress on both sides of the aisle in improving opportunities for fathers. Kasich said welfare reform was largely geared toward women with children, but job training and programs were necessary to bring men into the workplace as well. He worked to create educational, economic, and employment programs through faith-based organizations.
Vote Now: Which Potential GOP Candidate Would You Support in 2016?
Related Stories:
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.