John R. Kasich served in the United States Congress as the representative from Ohio’s 12th Congressional District from 1982 until 2000. A product of a middle class, blue collar upbringing in McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, he moved to Columbus, Ohio to attend college at Ohio State University.

After graduating from OSU in 1974 with a bachelor’s degree in political science, Kasich entered Ohio politics first working as a political aide and then made a successful run for the Ohio State Senate at the age of 26 in 1978. Four years later in 1982 in a race for the 12th Congressional District seat he was the only Republican in the country to defeat an incumbent Democrat. At the young age of 30 John Kasich headed for Washington, D.C.

For eighteen years John Kasich served in the House of Representatives, where he became known for his dedication to the cause of balancing the budget. Appointed to the House Budget Committee in 1989, he began crafting his own budgets as a member of the minority party. His hard work and enthusiasm for the budget process produced results when he was named Chairman of the House Budget Committee after the Republican takeover in 1994. Kasich held that position until his retirement from Congress in 2000. The capstone of his distinguished Congressional career was the 1997 balanced budget agreement passed by Congress and signed into law by then President Bill Clinton.

John Kasich explored a run for the 2000 Republican presidential nomination. In February 1999 he announced his decision to investigate a run for the presidency at a rally in Columbus, Ohio and shared some thoughts on his political philosophy and vision for the country. He stated, “We’re hungry for the renewal of our American spirit, about giving us confidence again. In order to do that I believe we’ve got to begin to run America from the bottom up, from our families, from our communities to the top.”

John Kasich shook off the cynicism of the post-Vietnam era to successfully enter politics as a postman’s son. His book “Courage is Contagious” is about ordinary citizens taking extraordinary actions to make a difference in their lives and the lives of those around them. After retiring from Congress in 2000, he moved back to the Westerville, Ohio area where he lives with his wife and twin daughters. He currently is combining careers in business and the media.

In 2004 John Kasich transferred his State Senate and U.S. Congressional papers to the Westerville Public Library. This website provides a guide to the Kasich Collection.