John Richard Kasich Jr. (/ˈkeɪsɪk/ KAY-sik;[1] born May 13, 1952)[2] is an American politician and author who was the 69th governor of Ohio from 2011 to 2019, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 to 2001, and a Republican candidate for the presidential nomination in 2000 and 2016.

Kasich ran for president again in 2016, finishing in fourth place in the Republican primaries behind Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, and Marco Rubio.

[41] In 1997, with fellow Republican representative Floyd Spence, he introduced legislation (supported by some congressional Democrats) for the U.S. to pull out of a multilateral peacekeeping force in Bosnia.

[42] In the House, he supported the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act, a U.S. Representative Ron Dellums (D- CA)-led initiative to impose economic sanctions against apartheid-era South Africa.

[47] As journalist Zeke Miller wrote in Time magazine, "The Kasich plan would have covered all Americans by 2005, using a form of an individual mandate that would have required employees to purchase insurance through their employers.

In 1996, he introduced the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act in the House, an important welfare reform bill signed into law by President Clinton.

His decision to accept the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act's expansion of Medicaid caused some Tea Party activists to refuse to support his campaign.

"[79] Kasich's tenure as governor was notable for his expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, his work combating the opioid addiction crisis, his attempt (later reversed by Ohio voters in a 2011 referendum) to curtail collective bargaining for public sector employees, his local government funding cuts, his passage of several anti-abortion laws, his veto of a six-week abortion ban, his tax cuts, and his evolving position on gun control.

[96][97] In 2016, Kasich broke with fellow Republicans in the state legislature by vetoing their attempt to continue blocking the RPS standards; as a result, the freeze ended on December 31, 2016, and the clean-energy mandate resumed.

[101][102] The bill places restrictions on the spread of manure and other fertilizers that contribute to toxic algal blooms and requires large public water treatment plants to monitor phosphorus levels.

[108] Following the separate fatal police shootings of John Crawford III and Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old boy in Ohio, while each were holding BB guns,[109][110] grand juries decided not to indict any of the officers involved.

[111] Following this, Kasich created the Ohio Collaborative Community-Police Advisory Board "to address what he described as frustration and distrust among some Ohioans toward their police departments, particularly among the black community.

[112][117] The advisory board, the first of its kind in Ohio, was also tasked by Kasich with developing "model policies and best practice recommendations to promote better interaction and communication between law enforcement departments and their home communities.

"[145] An analysis by the Plain Dealer in March 2016 found that more than 70 cities and villages had lost at least $1 million a year due to Kasich's budget and taxation policy.

"[161] On one occasion, Kasich spoke out against proposals to mandate that technology companies provide a "backdoor" for the government to access encrypted devices, saying that this could end up aiding hackers.

"[186] In September 2015, Kasich commented on the highly publicized case of Kim Davis (the Rowan County, Kentucky clerk who refused to comply with a federal court order directing her to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples), saying: "Now, I respect the fact that this lady doesn't agree but she's also a government employee, she's not running a church, I wouldn't force this on a church.

"[187] In a March 2018 interview on The Rubin Report, Kasich passively came out in support of same-sex marriage saying "I'm fine with it," but stated that he now preferred to show himself as someone in the "Billy Graham tradition" that "avoided social issues".

[192] In 2012, Kasich signed a bill allowing gun owners to transport weapons with loaded magazines in their vehicles and expanding concealed carry permit reciprocity.

[195][199] In 2015, Kasich expressed support for many provisions of the ACA (ensuring coverage for people with preexisting conditions, the use of insurance exchanges, and Medicaid expansion), but opposed mandates.

[205] Along with three other Republican governors (Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas, Brian Sandoval of Nevada, and Rick Snyder of Michigan), Kasich signed a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell with an outline of their wishes for a health care bill.

"[206] In August 2015, while running for president, Kasich called for a path to legal status (but not necessarily citizenship) for undocumented immigrants and for a guest worker program.

[207][208] Kasich also appeared to disavow his earlier stance against birthright citizenship, stating "I don't think we need to go there"; called for completion of a fence along the U.S.-Mexico border; and noted that undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as young children may obtain driver's licenses in Ohio.

[207][208] In October 2015, Kasich criticized Donald Trump's "plan to build a wall along the Mexican border and remove immigrants who entered the United States illegally", calling these notions "just crazy".

Subsequently, however, Kasich moved to the right, and in November 2015 wrote a letter to President Obama asking that no additional Syrian refugees be resettled in Ohio.

"[218] Shortly afterward, on February 2, 2011, Kasich made his first minority appointment to the Cabinet, naming Michael Colbert, a black man, to lead the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

[220] Throughout his first gubernatorial campaign, Kasich opposed the Ohio Hub higher-speed passenger rail project (a proposed 258-mile Cleveland-to-Cincinnati train) and promised to cancel it, claiming that it would average speeds of merely 36 mph.

[221][223] In a November 2010 letter to Kasich, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood wrote that the federal funding was specifically allocated by the 2009 economic stimulus act for high-speed rail, and could not be used for other purposes.

The Times editorial board strongly rebuked leading candidates Donald Trump and Senator Ted Cruz and wrote that Kasich, "though a distinct underdog, is the only plausible choice for Republicans tired of the extremism and inexperience on display in this race.

The Cincinnati Enquirer reported that this was "the best possible result" for Kasich and lent "credence to the notion that he can emerge" as a Republican alternative to Trump and Cruz.

[261] In August 2016, Kasich repeated an earlier claim that the Trump campaign had offered him a powerful vice presidency, "putting him in charge of all domestic and foreign policy".