Ohio Governor John Kasich announced he was entering the already crowded Republican presidential field Tuesday at his his alma mater, The Ohio State University in Columbus.  The folksy, former Fox News host of Heartland With John Kasich, he is perceived as a moderate but is well-liked by many conservatives due to the show.

Both of his parents were Democrats, and his father was a mailman. Kasich attended Ohio State University, where he earned a degree in political science. As a college freshman, he wrote a letter to President Nixon asking for the “ridiculous favor” of meeting with him for a few minutes since he admired him — and he got the meeting.

He worked for the state legislature after college, and got elected to the senate in 1978 at age 26.  He ran successfully for Congress beginning in 1982 and served nine terms. As chairman of the House Budget Committee, he worked with President Clinton to balance the budget for the first time since 1969. Known as a fiscal hawk, he helped push through welfare reform, and worked with Democrats to eliminate funding for the B-2 bomber, which he thought was wasteful. He worked with Ralph Nader to close corporate tax loopholes.

Kasich ran for president unsuccessfully in 1999, dropping out due to an inability to raise money. In 2001, he joined Lehman Brothers as a managing director in their investment banking division. He remained there until its collapse in 2008.

He successfully ran for governor of Ohio, becoming elected in 2011. As governor, he closed an $8 billion budget hole. Considered an independent-minded Republican, his record in politics is not solidly conservative. He supports Common Core, parts of Obamacare and a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants. As governor, he expanded Medicaid against the approval of the state legislature, and as a Congressman, he voted for the federal Assault Weapons Ban in 1994. He has a lifetime rating in Congress of 88.39 from the American Conservative Union, which is fairly moderate for a Republican. The libertarian Cato Institute rated him a D during his two terms as governor. He cut taxes several times but also increased spending and the number of government employees.

Kasich has a solidly pro-life record and opposes same-sex marriage, but attended a same-sex marriage ceremony recently, saying, “I’m a traditional marriage guy, but the courts have spoken and we move on.”

He grew up Catholic, but drifted away from his faith. After his parents were killed by a drunk driver, he renewed his faith, becoming an Anglican. Kasich often speaks of his faith, and in 2010, wrote a book called “Every Other Monday,” named for a Bible study group he started with some friends.

Kasich doesn’t like teleprompters, preferring to speak off the cuff or with an outline. Sometimes it has been to his detriment, since he can be extremely blunt and likes to pepper his speeches with corny jokes. Kasich wrote Courage is Contagious, published in 1998, which made the New York Times bestseller list and Stand for Something: The Battle for America’s Soul in 2006.  Besides his Heartland TV show, he has been a frequent substitute host for Bill O’Reilly on The O’Reilly Factor and appeared often on Hannity. He and his wife have two daughters.

Is Kasich Wasting His Time?

Kasich is polling near the tail end of the GOP candidates, unlikely to qualify for the first high-profile debates. Some are referring to him as the Jon Huntsman candidate of this cycle, a reference to the moderate Republican candidate who ran in 2012 but could not get any traction.

Kasich is the only candidate with both foreign policy experience as a Congressman and managerial experience as a governor. Some in the Republican establishment prefer him over Bush because he doesn’t carry the baggage associated with his last name. However, Bush has out fundraised any other candidate by far, raising $114 million.

Kasich is focusing on the New Hampshire primary. He’s starting out relatively strong with fundraising; his backers raised a respectable $11 million in two months and bought $1.5 million worth of New Hampshire television time. He’s already lined up some key politicos in New Hampshire on his team, including former U.S. Senator John E. Sununu. However, recent polls of Republicans show him at only 2 percent in New Hampshire. Kasich’s strategy is to hit the grassroots in the state and meet as many people personally as possible, realistic in a small state.

He brings a key asset to the general election that most of the other candidates don’t — Ohio is a battleground state, and voters there would likely choose him over the Democrat nominee. No Republican has ever won the presidency without winning Ohio — Romney lost Ohio to Obama in 2012. Additionally, Kasich has a successful record at knocking off Democrats, so he might do better than other candidates against the Democratic nominee.

If Kasich can catch up to Bush in New Hampshire, he could get some momentum in the race. But it’s a high hurdle, and the odds are stacked against him.