89 Facts About Dennis Kucinich

1.

Dennis Kucinich dropped out early during the 2008 primary contest after faring poorly in early states.

2.

Dennis Kucinich ran for governor of Ohio in the 2018 election, losing in the primary to Richard Cordray.

3.

Dennis Kucinich was an unsuccessful primary candidate in the 2021 Cleveland mayoral election.

4.

Dennis Kucinich's father, who was of Croat ancestry, worked as a truck driver and was a member of the Teamsters for 35 years; his Irish American mother was a homemaker.

5.

Dennis Kucinich graduated from St John Cantius High School in 1965.

6.

Dennis Kucinich attended Cleveland State University from 1967 to 1970.

7.

In 1972, Kucinich ran for the US House of Representatives, losing narrowly to incumbent Republican William E Minshall Jr.

8.

In 1975, Dennis Kucinich became clerk of the municipal court in Cleveland and served in that position for two years.

9.

Dennis Kucinich was elected mayor of Cleveland in 1977 and served in that position until 1979.

10.

For years, these debts were routinely rolled over, pending future payment, until Dennis Kucinich's announcement was made public.

11.

Dennis Kucinich criticized a tax referendum Voinovich proposed in 1980, which voters eventually approved.

12.

Dennis Kucinich struggled to find employment and moved to Los Angeles, where he stayed with a friend, actress Shirley MacLaine.

13.

On his 1982 income tax return, Dennis Kucinich reported an income of $38.

14.

In 1982, Dennis Kucinich moved back to Cleveland and ran for Secretary of State; he lost the Democratic primary to Sherrod Brown.

15.

In 1983, Dennis Kucinich won a special election to fill the seat of a Cleveland city councilman who had died.

16.

Dennis Kucinich's brother, Gary Kucinich, was a councilman at the time.

17.

In 1985, there was some speculation that Dennis Kucinich might run for mayor again.

18.

Dennis Kucinich, meanwhile, gave up his council position to run for governor of Ohio as an independent against Richard Celeste, but later withdrew from the race.

19.

In 1996, Dennis Kucinich was elected to represent Ohio's 10th district in the US House of Representatives, defeating two-term Republican incumbent Martin Hoke by three percentage points.

20.

Dennis Kucinich never faced another general election contest that close and was reelected seven times.

21.

Dennis Kucinich served as chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus from 1999 to 2003, after founding chair Bernie Sanders, and was succeeded by Peter DeFazio.

22.

Dennis Kucinich was one of the 31 House Democrats who voted to not count the 20 electoral votes from Ohio in the 2004 presidential election, despite Republican President George Bush winning the state by 118,457 votes.

23.

In 2008, Kucinich introduced articles of impeachment in the House of Representatives against President George W Bush for the invasion and occupation of Iraq.

24.

Dennis Kucinich criticized the flag-burning amendment and voted against the impeachment of President Bill Clinton.

25.

Dennis Kucinich was criticized during his 2004 campaign for changing his stance on the issue of abortion.

26.

Previously critical of the limited coverage given his campaign, Dennis Kucinich characterized ABC's decision as an example of media companies' power to shape campaigns by choosing which candidates to cover and questioned its timing, coming immediately after the debate.

27.

Dennis Kucinich was the last candidate to end his campaign.

28.

On December 11,2006, in a speech at Cleveland City Hall, Dennis Kucinich announced he would seek the Democratic nomination for president in 2008.

29.

Dennis Kucinich told his supporters in Iowa that if he did not appear on the second ballot in a caucus that they should back Barack Obama.

30.

At an October 2007 debate, NBC's Tim Russert cited a passage from a book by Shirley MacLaine in which she writes that Dennis Kucinich had seen a UFO.

31.

In November 2007, Larry Flynt hosted a fundraiser for Dennis Kucinich that drew criticism from Flynt's detractors.

32.

Dennis Kucinich was endorsed by author Gore Vidal and actor Viggo Mortensen.

33.

In January 2008, Dennis Kucinich was excluded from a Democratic presidential debate on MSNBC due to his poor showing in the Iowa and New Hampshire primaries.

34.

Later that month, Dennis Kucinich dropped out of the race and did not endorse any other candidate.

35.

Dennis Kucinich endorsed Barack Obama after Obama won the nomination.

36.

Until 2012, Dennis Kucinich was reelected to Congress by big margins in his strongly Democratic-leaning districts.

37.

In February 2008, Dennis Kucinich raised around $50,000 compared to Cimperman's $228,000, but through a YouTube fund-raising campaign he managed to raise $700,000, surpassing Cimperman's $487,000.

38.

Dennis Kucinich accused Cimperman of representing corporate and real estate interests.

39.

Dennis Kucinich took part in a debate with the other primary challengers.

40.

The new map shifted the bulk of Dennis Kucinich's territory, including his home, to the Toledo-based 9th District, represented since 1983 by fellow Democrat Marcy Kaptur.

41.

Dennis Kucinich had been endorsed by another House member, Barney Frank of Massachusetts.

42.

Dennis Kucinich had been mentioned frequently as a possible 2012 candidate for Congress in Washington's newly created 10th district, but he decided to retire from Congress when his term ended in January 2013.

43.

In January 2018, Dennis Kucinich announced his candidacy for governor of Ohio in the 2018 election.

44.

Dennis Kucinich was criticized for working as a Fox News contributor.

45.

In December 2020, Dennis Kucinich announced his candidacy for mayor of Cleveland in the 2021 election.

46.

In January 2013, Dennis Kucinich joined Fox News Channel as a regular contributor.

47.

Dennis Kucinich appeared on The O'Reilly Factor and other Fox News shows.

48.

Dennis Kucinich quit Fox News in January 2018 as he announced plans to run for governor.

49.

Since running for governor, Dennis Kucinich has reappeared on the network, in 2019 discussing Democratic primary debates, and has appeared on Larry King's PoliticKING program, speaking against the Democrats' push to impeach President Trump.

50.

Dennis Kucinich was often regarded as one of the most liberal members of the United States House of Representatives.

51.

Dennis Kucinich said in a 2003 interview that he had a "journey" on the abortion issue that "caused me to break from a voting record that had not been pro-choice".

52.

On June 10,2008, Kucinich introduced 35 articles of impeachment against President George W Bush on the floor of the House of Representatives.

53.

On July 14,2008 Dennis Kucinich introduced a new resolution of impeachment against Bush, charging him with manufacturing evidence to sway public opinion in favor of the war in Iraq.

54.

Dennis Kucinich held a press conference on April 24,2007, revealing House Resolution 333 and the three articles of impeachment against Cheney.

55.

On November 6,2007, Dennis Kucinich used special parliamentary procedure and moved for a vote on impeaching Cheney.

56.

Dennis Kucinich has opposed the USA PATRIOT Act since its inception.

57.

Dennis Kucinich voted against the act in 2001, and against its renewal in 2006.

58.

Dennis Kucinich voted for an amendment to the constitution outlawing flag burning and desecration, but later took the opposite stance, voting against a similar amendment in 2005.

59.

In 2007, Dennis Kucinich voted to require the Department of Defense to present a detailed plan for transferring prisoners out of Guantanamo Bay detention camp.

60.

Dennis Kucinich has praised and defended President Donald Trump in Fox News appearances.

61.

Dennis Kucinich defended Trump's claims that he was being wiretapped, saying that he himself had been wiretapped.

62.

Dennis Kucinich defended Trump's efforts to improve relations with Russia.

63.

Dennis Kucinich criticized some House Democrats for attempting to start impeachment proceedings against Trump.

64.

Dennis Kucinich has said that clean water is "a basic human right".

65.

Dennis Kucinich opposed a planned regional radioactive waste dump, and has long advocated renewable energy and efficient energy use.

66.

Dennis Kucinich was involved in efforts to bring back the Fairness Doctrine, requiring radio stations to give liberal and conservative points of view equal time, which he and other critics of talk radio argue is not presently the case.

67.

Dennis Kucinich is a supporter of a non-interventionist foreign policy and has called war a profitable racket.

68.

Dennis Kucinich voted against the authorization of military force against Iraq in 2002.

69.

Dennis Kucinich objected to the 2011 military intervention in Libya missile strikes and suggested they were impeachable offenses.

70.

Dennis Kucinich asked why Democratic leaders didn't object when Obama told them of his plan for US participation in enforcing the Libyan no-fly zone.

71.

Dennis Kucinich said Obama's action in Libya was "a grave decision that cannot be made by the president alone", and that failing to first seek Congress's approval was unconstitutional.

72.

In March 2011, Dennis Kucinich criticized the Obama administration's decision to participate in the UN intervention in Libya without Congressional authorization.

73.

Dennis Kucinich called it an "indisputable fact" that Obama's decision was an impeachable offense since he believes the US Constitution "does not provide for the president to wage war any times he pleases", but he did not introduce a resolution to impeach Obama.

74.

Dennis Kucinich was criticized for his visit to Syria in 2007 and praise of President Bashar al-Assad on Syrian national TV.

75.

Dennis Kucinich has supported Assad, citing him as a lesser evil in the Syrian Civil War.

76.

Dennis Kucinich helped Fox News get an interview with Assad.

77.

In October 2016, Dennis Kucinich warned against a prospective United States military intervention against Russia in Syria.

78.

Dennis Kucinich is graded "F" by the National Rifle Association, indicating a pro-gun control voting record.

79.

Dennis Kucinich believes that health care is a "right in a democratic society".

80.

Dennis Kucinich is a critic of the for-profit health insurance and pharmaceutical industries, and is concerned about the large number of uninsured and underinsured in the United States.

81.

Dennis Kucinich contends that if the for-profit insurance system's overhead, such as "stock options, executive salaries, [and] advertising", were used for medically necessary care, there would be enough money in the system to cover everyone at no extra cost.

82.

In March 2010, Dennis Kucinich announced that he supported the Affordable Care Act, after previously indicating opposition.

83.

Dennis Kucinich voted for the expansion of hate crime laws in the United States and against banning LGBT adoption in Washington, DC.

84.

Dennis Kucinich has consistently opposed free trade, claiming that it costs American jobs and enables abusive working conditions in other countries.

85.

In 2003, Dennis Kucinich received the Gandhi Peace Award, an annual award bestowed by the Religious Society of Friends-affiliated organization Promoting Enduring Peace.

86.

Dennis Kucinich stood up and spoke eloquently, passionately about Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran.

87.

Dennis Kucinich married Sandra Lee McCarthy in 1977; they had a daughter, Jackie, in 1981 and divorced in 1986.

88.

Dennis Kucinich married his third wife, British citizen Elizabeth Harper, on August 21,2005.

89.

Dennis Kucinich, a vegan since 1995, is an advocate of veganism, like Elizabeth.