Who Is John Kasich's Wife? Details About Karen Waldbillig Kasich
Meet Karen Waldbillig Kasich!
Fox News / YouTube The 2020 Democratic National Convention starts Monday, August 17, and some big political names — like Doug Jones, Michelle Obama, Bernie Sanders, and Catherine Cortez Masto — are set to speak at tonight’s event. Republican and former presidential candidate John Kasich will also be speaking at tonight’s virtual event, which has caused quite a bit of controversy, as he’s getting more time than Democratic representatives like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
While some people are familiar with the former Ohio governor and his politcal views, many people are wondering who John Kasich is married to.
Who is John Kasich’s wife? Her name is Karen Waldbillig Kasich.
John Kasich has been married to Karen Waldbillig Kasich since 1997. Karen is John’s second wife and is twelve years his junior; he was married to his first wife, Mary Lee Griffith, from 1975 - 1980.
According to her bio on the National Governors Association website, Karen “established a career in health care, public relations and marketing that spanned nearly two decades” and “last served as a vice president with GSW Worldwide, an agency focused on health care and the pharmaceutical industry.”
John and Karen Kasich have twin daughters together.
While Karen hasn’t been active on Twitter since 2018, the former marketing exec’s timeline is loaded with pictures of her family, including her 20-year-old twin daughters, Reese and Emma.
“Thank you, @JohnKasich, for being an amazing role model to our girls, for believing in them & loving them unconditionally. What a blessing you are for Emma & Reese. We love you. Happy Father’s Day!” she wrote in a sweet Father’s Day tribute to John in 2018.
Karen Walabillig Kasich graduated from The Ohio State University.
Karen Kasich is an Ohio native, so it makes sense that she graduated from her home state’s premiere school. Karen graduated from The Ohio State University with a bachelor’s degree in communications.
Politics are “not her thing.”
In 2015, Karen told The Columbus Dispatch that politics just really aren’t her thing, which is kind of a strange admission when your husband has dedicated his life to politics. “I tell him that all the time. This is his deal. He wants to run, and I want him to run, but it’s not my thing. Politics is not my thing,” she said of her husband's 2016 presidential bid.
“I’m not going to be the spouse that’s at every event, shaking every hand, going to all the Lincoln Day dinners. That was never me,” she added.
However, the former First Lady of Ohio explained that she wanted to maintain an active role in her kids’ lives, and that politics just simply weren’t her number one priority.
“Now, the campaign staff I’m sure would want me up here more often, but I have 15-year-old daughters who don’t drive who need to go to tennis, they need to go to soccer, they need to go to school, they need to have tutoring,” she said.
“It’s not an easy thing to have someone just step into every week just so I can go to New Hampshire.”
The Democratic National Convention airs August 17-20 every night from 9 p.m. ET - 11 p.m. ET. You can stream the DNC here.
Olivia Jakiel is an editor and writer who covers celebrity and entertainment news. Follow her on Instagram and keep up with her zingers on Twitter.