Ohio governor Kasich is 16th notable entry into GOP race

Kasich spoke specifically of the Ohioans who found themselves out of work in the wake of the economic recession.

Like most Republicans, Kasich tapped into the anti-Washington sentiment amongst Americans and their frustration with Washington gridlock. He spent almost 20 years in the USA House of Representatives, winning a reputation as a national security and fiscal hawk who pushed for a balanced-budget amendment.

Kasich signaled early on that he wasn’t interested in piling on Hillary Rodham Clinton, the leading Democratic contender, or President Barack Obama, a commonplace ritual at Republican gatherings.

He added that “we shouldn’t be demonizing law-abiding, hardworking folks”.

Kasich is spending the next two days in New Hampshire as part of his presidential campaign roll-out, followed by trips to Iowa, South Carolina and Michigan.

Toledo Blade editor David Kushma noted that Kasich’s “tenure at Fox News, where he honed his heartland persona, helped make him media-savvy”.

Believe it or not, Kasich ran for president once before.

Kasich made an abbreviated run for president in 2000 before dropping out to endorse eventual Republican nominee George W. Bush.

Unions that turned back an effort by Kasich and fellow Republicans to limit public workers’ collective bargaining rights say Kasich’s successes have come at a cost to local governments and schools, and that new Ohio jobs lack the pay and benefits of the ones they replaced. “I have the experience and the testing which shapes you and prepares you for the most important job in the world”, said Kasich at his campaign launch in Columbus. “The sun is going to rise to the zenith in America again. I promise you”.

Kasich’s speech focused on restoring America and keeping the American Dream alive.

The Kasich campaign must hope his announcement results in a polling bounce. The decision to expand Medicaid coverage under Obamacare is just one of his sins against conservative dogma. He supported a ban on assault-type weapons when he was in Congress but signed an Ohio law reducing training, residency and license-renewal requirements for people permitted to carry concealed weapons.

Still, a few like him so far. Or they could decide to let everyone support whoever they’d like.

Politics aside, Kasich faces another tough challenge: He’s pretty unknown.

It is the largest collection of Republican presidential candidates in recent decades, but no clear front-runner has emerged.

“I’ve been hearing from these Democrat operatives that John Kasich, me – I don’t want to sound like I’m Bob Dole, you know?” That will hurt him in the primaries, especially in deep conservative states like Mississippi and Louisiana, places that are known to put social issues ahead of their own economy.