13 Facts About John Kasich, the Newest 2016 Candidate

Samantha Reinis / July 21, 2015

The count is up to 16.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich announced his candidacy for president this morning, joining the already diverse GOP field.

Here are 13 facts about the latest contender.

1) John Kasich, Jr. is 63 years old and the current two-term governor of Ohio.

2) According to Newsmax, Kasich received a dorm citation while a freshman at Ohio State University, and appealed it directly to the university president. Kasich convinced the university president to deliver a letter to President Nixon at their meeting the next day, which secured Kasich his own meeting with Nixon at the White House.

Long before his candidacy, John Kasich made it to the White House http://t.co/OlRVZfQeZ0 pic.twitter.com/JsZiC7iWqW

— NYT Politics (@nytpolitics) July 20, 2015

3) He defeated a Democratic incumbent to win a seat as state senator at the age of 26.

4) Kasich served 9 terms as a congressman for Ohio’s 12th District.

5) According to USA Today, Kasich grew up a Catholic but renewed his faith as a Protestant after his parents were killed by a drunk driver in 1987.

6) He met his second wife Karen when she set up a photo shoot for the then congressman to be placed in a football media guide while she was at Ohio State University. He used a “thank you” call as an excuse to talk to her again. They got married in 1997.

7) He was a Fox News host of his own show, “From the Heartland With John Kasich,” as well as “Heroes With John Kasich.”

8) He has two teenage twin girls, Emma and Reese, who volunteer for his campaigns.

9) Kasich wrote a book called “Courage Is Contagious” which was on The New York Times best-seller list.

10) He dislikes teleprompters and regularly gives speeches off a rough outline or without any notes at all.

11) He is known for being direct in his speech, sometimes coming off as being temperamental. He is praised for being confrontational to his opponents.

12) Kasich talks about his friendship with Bono, the lead singer of U2, which was famously mocked by Jimmy Fallon on “The Tonight Show.”

13) Kasich ran for president in 1999 but ended up dropping out before the primaries due to overwhelming financial support given to Bush. This was his only failed election.