Dennis Kucinich Fast Facts

Here is a look at the life of Dennis Kucinich, former Ohio congressman.

Birth date: October 8, 1946

Birth place: Cleveland, Ohio

Birth name: Dennis John Kucinich

Father: Frank Kucinich, truck driver

Mother: Virginia (Norris) Kucinich

Marriages: Elizabeth (Harper) Kucinich (2005-present); Sandra Kucinich (1977-1986, divorced); Helen Kucinich (divorced)

Children: with Sandra Kucinich-Horn: Jackie

Education: Case Western Reserve University, B.A., 1973, and M.A., 1974

Religion: Roman Catholic

Is a vegan.

Against the war in Iraq and proposed creating a federal department of peace.

Was anti-abortion while in Congress, but in 2002 he changed his position to support a woman’s right to have a legal abortion.

When Kucinich was mayor of Cleveland, the city defaulted on close to $15 million in loans.

1969-1975 – Serves on the Cleveland City Council.

1975-1977 – Clerk of the Cleveland Municipal Court.

1977-1979 – Mayor of Cleveland. At 31, he is the youngest person at that time ever elected mayor of a major US city.

1979 – Loses his reelection bid to a Republican candidate.

1983-1985 – Serves on the Cleveland City Council.

1994-1996 – Ohio State Senator.

1996 – Is elected as a US Representative from Ohio’s 10th District.

February 2003 – Files paperwork with the FEC to form a presidential exploratory committee.

October 13, 2003 – Formally announces his candidacy for president.

July 22, 2004 – Endorses Senator John Kerry for president.

December 12, 2006 – Announces he is running for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination.

2007 – Kucinich’s autobiography, “The Courage to Survive,” is published.

January 24, 2008 – Drops out of the presidential race.

November 2010 – Elected to his eighth term in the House of Representatives.

January 2011 – Settles his $150,000 lawsuit against the House of Representatives cafeteria for serving him an olive with a pit in it in 2008.

March 6, 2012 – Loses primary to fellow Democrat Marcy Kaptur. Redistricting causes Kaptur and Kucinich to have to face each other.

May 16, 2012 – Announces he will retire from Congress at the end of his term, after deciding against relocating to run for Congress in Washington state.

January 2013-January 2018 – Fox News contributor.

April 2013 – Kucinich joins the Advisory Board of the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity.

January 17, 2018 – Announces he is running for governor of Ohio.

May 8, 2018 – Loses the Democratic primary for Ohio’s governor to Richard Cordray.

June 8, 2021 – Kucinich’s memoir, “The Division of Light and Power,” is published.

September 14, 2021 – Kucinich finishes third in Cleveland’s mayoral primary. The top two candidates will advance to the general election.

May 18, 2023 – Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. releases a statement saying he has chosen Kucinich as his campaign manager. Kucinich leaves his role as campaign manager in October 2023.

January 24, 2024 – Announces that he is running as an independent for the US House of Representatives from the 7th Congressional District of Ohio.