--- title: John Kasich Enters 2016 Republican Presidential Race From Ohio description: The Ohio Governor is likely the last major Republican presidential contender to jump into the race canonical: https://time.com/3965946/john-kasich-republican-president/ author: Alex Altman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-07-21T16:09:57.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:47:11.275Z article:section: Politics og:title: John Kasich Enters 2016 Republican Presidential Race From Ohio og:description: The Ohio Governor is likely the last major Republican presidential contender to jump into the race og:url: https://time.com/3965946/john-kasich-republican-president/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9464a21d00f540e1/69885bcaa988ca474d6b38d6/john-kasich1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4000 og:image:height: 2250 og:image:alt: John-Kasich og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: John Kasich Enters 2016 Republican Presidential Race From Ohio twitter:description: The Ohio Governor is likely the last major Republican presidential contender to jump into the race twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9464a21d00f540e1/69885bcaa988ca474d6b38d6/john-kasich1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # John Kasich Enters Presidential Race As Compassionate Republican > Sponsored content. 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It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=52af0487-39d3-4730-915b-7cd559bb752b&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Monday to Saturday (3x per week) | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Philip Elliott, Senior Correspondent | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership The policy influence ecosystem. A policy-focused audience spanning government, public affairs, advocacy, law, research, political media, and the institutions that make, interpret and respond to public policy. ### TIME D.C. Brief: key statements * D.C. Brief is edited by TIME journalists. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Alex Altman](https://time.com/author/alex-altman/)  ## Alex Altman Altman is the executive features editor and deputy Washington bureau chief at TIME. Jul 21, 2015 4:09 PM UTC  John Kasick, governor of Ohio, speaks while announcing he will seek the 2016 Republican presidential nomination in Columbus on July 21, 2015. John Kasick, governor of Ohio, speaks while announcing he will seek the 2016 Republican presidential nomination in Columbus on July 21, 2015. Luke Sharett—Bloomberg/Getty Images  by [Alex Altman](https://time.com/author/alex-altman/)  ## Alex Altman Altman is the executive features editor and deputy Washington bureau chief at TIME. Jul 21, 2015 4:09 PM UTC Ohio Governor John Kasich launched his campaign for the presidency on Tuesday, casting himself as a compassionate conservative with a proven record of success in one of the nation’s top battlegrounds. “I have decided to run for President of the United States,” Kasich said in his announcement speech at his alma mater, the Ohio State University. “I’m here to humbly tell you that I believe I do have the skills, and I have the experience.” Kasich is the sixteenth and likely the last major candidate to enter the GOP primary field. He faces an uphill climb to capture the nomination. The Ohioan’s late entry into the race kicks off a two-week scramble to boost his national poll numbers quickly enough to qualify for the first Republican debate on Aug. 6 in Cleveland. Kasich is expected to stake his campaign on a strong showing in New Hampshire, whose flinty voters often favor iconoclastic conservatives of his ilk. On paper, Kasich has the credentials of a top-tier contender. He’s a popular two-term governor who cut taxes in a critical swing state. He spent nearly 20 years in the U.S. House of Representatives, winning a reputation as a national security and fiscal hawk who pushed for a balanced-budget amendment. The union-busting legislation he signed in Ohio was even more aggressive than the Wisconsin bill that forms the cornerstone of Scott Walker’s campaign. (So much so that it was ultimately repealed by referendum.) Kasich balances conservative policies with a folksy style and compassionate streak—expanding Medicaid, strengthening the safety net for the poor—that has helped him win over independent voters. In an announcement speech that was by turns poignant and rambling, Kasich made empathy for struggling Americans a centerpiece of his pitch. “If we’re not born to serve others,” he said, “what are we born to do?” But the same policies that make Kasich intriguing in a general election will be perilous in a primary. The decision to expand Medicaid coverage under Obamacare is just one of his sins against conservative dogma. Kasich supports Common Core education standards. He favors earned legal status for undocumented immigrants, and has not ruled out a path to citizenship. His cranky demeanor has ruffled feathers among the GOP donor class. Kasich’s taste for tweaking the hardliners in his own party evokes comparisons former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, whose base-bucking campaign for the Republican nomination flamed out spectacularly in 2012\. Several of the architects of Huntsman’s bid, including senior strategists John Weaver and Matt David and adman Fred Davis, have formed the core of Kasich’s effort. Kasich is more conservative than Huntsman, but it’s an open question whether he can cobble together enough support to compete in early primary states dominated by the party’s grassroots activists. Kasich ran for president once before, launching a short-lived campaign in 1999 before dropping out when it became clear that the Republican Party had coalesced behind George W. Bush. Another Bush stands in Kasich’s way this time, and he and Jeb Bush have some attributes in common: both are two-term governors of major states who went on to work with Lehman Brothers, and who have anchored their campaigns in themes of fiscal discipline and boosting struggling Americans. In his announcement speech, Kasich even borrowed the “right to rise” mantra that Bush uses. As in his brother’s 2000 campaign, Bush has also consolidated much of the party’s institutional and financial support. Kasich’s path to the nomination is narrow, but he has the credibility to contend if he can find traction in a crowded field. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3965946/john-kasich-republican-president/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3965946/john-kasich-republican-president/"},"headline":"John Kasich Enters Presidential Race As Compassionate Republican","datePublished":"2015-07-21T16:09:57.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-19T07:47:11.275Z","description":"The Ohio Governor is likely the last major Republican presidential contender to jump into the race","url":"https://time.com/3965946/john-kasich-republican-president/","keywords":["john kasich","2016 Election","Republican Party"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9464a21d00f540e1/69885bcaa988ca474d6b38d6/john-kasich1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alex Altman","jobTitle":"Altman is the executive features editor and deputy Washington bureau chief at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/alex-altman/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9464a21d00f540e1/69885bcaa988ca474d6b38d6/john-kasich1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"John-Kasich","caption":"John Kasick, governor of Ohio, speaks while announcing he will seek the 2016 Republican presidential nomination in Columbus, Ohio, U.S., on Tuesday, July 21, 2015. 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