John Kasich

"I've been asked, 'Why are you pushing forward with that education initiative when the economy is so bad?' " Strickland said. "Because it's really important, and we can always find a reason to not move forward on this. Some will like it, some will dislike it, some will say it's not enough, and some will say we can't afford it."

Strickland's fullest comments to date on his school-funding plan came this week during a year-end interview with The Plain Dealer in his august Statehouse office.

Seated at the round table he uses during weekly meetings with legislative leaders, Strickland previewed the coming budget battle, defended his record with an eye toward the 2010 election and talked about his budding relationship with House Speaker-elect Armond Budish, a Beachwood Democrat.

Gov. Ted Strickland's approval rating has fallen but he still has a majority of support from voters, according to a poll released by the Quinnipiac Polling Institute.

Strickland has a 54 percent approval rating, down from ratings in the high 50s and 60s earlier this year.

COLUMBUS – A new guard is set to lead Republicans for the next two years, the party’s incoming chair said.

Ohio Republican Party deputy chair Kevin DeWine made the remarks Thursday during a discussion of the Ohio GOP’s future following two elections of wide-ranging defeats for his party.

DeWine said he sees eight high and low-profile Republicans leading the party in 2010 during a press conference at party headquarters Thursday.

Former U.S. representative John Kasich (R-Westerville) addressed the plight of the Republican Party in Ohio and across America in a statement Wednesday, saying that the party must get back to basics.

Kasich formed the Recharge Ohio political action committee this year to help Republican state House candidates retain the House, which they lost to Democrats on Election Day. Despite that loss and others, Kasich said he’s optimistic about tomorrow.

“Like Ronald Reagan, I'm hopeful about the future of our party and our country. But as we get ready for the fight ahead, we must return to the fundamentals of what it means to be a Republican,” he said. “We must reassert the importance of limited government, lower taxes, fewer regulations, individual responsibility, and restrained government spending.”

John Kasich’s Recharge Ohio political action committee has helped 28 Republican state House candidates in slightly over three months.

Kasich’s headlined 48 fundraisers for these Republicans and his PAC has given them more than $30,000, the PAC said in a press release Monday. More than 120,000 people have been called by Recharge Ohio and the committee has knocked on 52,000 doors. Kasich and his volunteers have driven 14,000 miles to visit 62 counties since 2007.

“I am excited about the number of young people who have worked tirelessly for Recharge Ohio to help elect leaders who want to renew our state,” Kasich said in a statement.  “Ohio’s economy is in a death spiral, and we are losing jobs every day. Recharge Ohio is dedicated to reversing that trend so that we can bring jobs back to Ohio.”

The Recharge Ohio political action committee, founded by John Kasich, has donated $30,000 to Republicans' state House efforts.

Secretary of State pre-general election reports show the PAC donated $16,000 to the Ohio House Republican Campaign Committee and to candidates Virgil Lovitt, Brad Lewis, Carol Ann-Schindel, Jeff McClain, Nan Baker, Todd Snitchler, and Colleen Grady.

Despite being out of Congress, John Kasich is campaigning as hard as ever.

The former Republican U.S. representative from Columbus has done more than 40 fundraisers for GOP state House candidates and his Recharge Ohio political action committee has sent volunteers to knock on more than 35,000 doors for the candidates. At stake is the GOP’s three-seat majority and tipping the balance in state government to Democrats who have the governor’s office.

Kasich said his PAC is vital to preventing Democrats from winning the chamber.

“Outside of the Republican Party, I have no doubt that it’s the most effective organization in helping Republicans in the state,” he said.

If John Kasich (R) hasn’t decided whether he will run for governor starting next year, two events in the past week may have pushed him in that direction.

Yesterday, his current employer Lehman Brothers, where he is managing director of the Investment Banking Division, collapsed, meaning he could lose his job.

Last week, Gov. Ted Strickland (D) made more cuts to Ohio’s biennial budget after its second year fell into deficit. (Kasich was chair of the House Budget Committee in the mid-1990s.) With the budget in danger and potentially without a day job, Kasich may be thinking about a new job as governor.

Rob Portman after a press conference: Politicker PhotoMINNEAPOLIS -- Rob Portman began to carefully build a case against Democrats and for himself as a statewide officeholder two years from now in a meeting with reporters Thursday.

As always Portman said won't make a decision to run for office until after the election, but began to comment about Gov. Ted Strickland, his own economic ideas and what affect President Bush will have on future Election Days.

Portman built a hypothetical case for himself as a candidate, saying his resume qualifies him to tackle the state's economic problems.

"I think being the budget chief, and the trade rep has really given me the ability to help Ohio, either as a governor or senator in ways that I frankly didn't have before," Portman said.

John Kasich speaking at the Ohio GOP's delegation breakfast: Politicker PhotoMINNEAPOLIS - After giving the best-received speech at the Ohio Republican delegation's breakfast so far, former U.S. Rep. John Kasich (R-Westerville) made clear to reporters he's getting back into politics and gave the strongest signal yet he'll run for governor.

Kasich said he would probably wait until "late 2009" to decide to run for the GOP's gubernatorial nomination, but said he will follow the people's lead.

"I don't need to do this. This is not my first rodeo," Kasich said. "But if the state wants change, if they want to save this place from going down the tubes and they're willing to support significant efforts at change at shaking up the status quo, then it'll be pretty compelling to me."