Kasich to run for governor

By HOWARD WILKINSON

After two years of laying the groundwork with dozens of speeches at Republican dinners and gatherings across Ohio, former congressman and present Fox TV host John Kasich will launch his campaign for Ohio governor today at an outdoor rally in the Columbus suburb of Westerville.

Kasich, a 57-year-old who was House Finance chairman in the 1990s, is the front-runner on the GOP side to take on Democratic incumbent Ted Strickland.

Ohio Republican leaders appear to be clearing the way for Kasich, much the way they have come together around former Cincinnati congressman Rob Portman for the U.S. Senate seat that is up for election next year.

But other Republicans may get in the race. State Sen. Kevin Coughlin, R-Cuyahoga Falls, wrote a letter to Ohio Republican Party Chairman Kevin DeWine last week saying the party should not be touting Kasich and should let Ohio Republican voters decide who the candidate should be. Coughlin has said he plans to kick off his own campaign after the Legislature adjourns in July.

Kasich, though, has been working hard at drumming up support in the party for two years now, giving almost weekly speeches at county GOP functions around the state.

Ohio Republicans have been expecting Kasich to run for statewide office since 2000, when he made a brief run for the GOP presidential nomination before being swamped by the George W. Bush political machine.

Since then, he has been hosting his own weekly program on Fox News and occasionally filling in for fellow conservatives Hannity and Bill O’Reilly. In 2001, he took a job as managing director in the Columbus office of Lehman Brothers, the investment banking firm that declared bankruptcy last year.