The New York Times: John Kasich Enters Crowded 2016 Race Facing Job of Catch-Up

By Sheryl Gay Stolberg, Jul. 21, 2015, The New York Times

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Gov. John R. Kasich, a blunt-spoken and unorthodox Republican who bucked his party by expanding Medicaid under President Obama’s health care law and says politicians must “reach out and help those who live in the shadows,” announced Tuesday that he was joining his party’s long list of candidates for president.

Mr. Kasich, 63, became the 16th prominent Republican to enter the 2016 field. As a two-term governor in a critical swing state — no candidate since John F. Kennedy in 1960 has won the White House without winning Ohio — he is a credible candidate, though his late entry means he has catch-up work to do.

“I have decided to run for president of the United States,” he told a crowd at Ohio State University, his alma mater. “I have the skills, and I have the experience. I have the experience and the testing — the testing that prepares you for the most important job in the world.”

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