COLUMBUS, Ohio--Ohio Gov. John Kasich will enter his final two years as governor in an enviable place, enjoying high approval ratings, national prestige after a presidential run, and a legislature dominated by his fellow Republicans.

But he's also a lame-duck governor. That means he'll have less power than he did during his first six years in office to cement his legacy and check off the unfinished policy goals on his to-do list, from tax reform to job creation.

Kasich also has to deal with shifting political winds in Washington as Donald Trump - whom the governor has strongly criticized - prepares to take the presidency. And he'll have to do all this while trying to keep his cabinet members and staff from leaving as they look ahead to life after he departs in 2019.

Kasich's goals

Kasich wants to be remembered as the governor who helped get state finances in order and rejuvenate Ohio's economy in the wake of the Great Recession.

He campaigned on, and constantly brings up, the financial problems he inherited from his predecessor, Democrat Ted Strickland. One of Kasich's main goals now will be to prepare a fiscally conservative state budget - the fourth and last of his administration - that ensures he doesn't face the same criticism when he leaves office.

"I'll tell you this: I will do everything in my power to make sure that the next governor doesn't get handed to him or her what I got handed when I became governor," Kasich said Wednesday. "And that means tough decisions will be made."

The governor said intends to continue pressing for tax reform -- lowering the state's income-tax rate while increasing taxes on sales and oil and gas drilling. Education funding and school vouchers are safe bets to be on his to-do list, as well.

Kasich also has vowed to "innovate" and "Uberize" state government going forward, though he's given little indication so far what specific proposals might lie behind those buzzwords.

If Kasich does unveil any blockbuster proposals, they likely will be included in his final budget plan early next year.

The governor's overall agenda, however, will likely be restrained, with few - if any - major brand-new initiatives, said David Niven, an assistant political science professor at the University of Cincinnati.

That's partly because if Kasich had any grand proposals, he likely would have introduced them by now, Niven said. But it's also because the governor has learned - particularly from his losing battle with Senate Bill 5 to curtail labor union bargaining rights - that he does better to focus on competent governing over pushing major controversial ideas.

But Tom Sutton, who heads the political science department at Baldwin Wallace University, said Kasich may take another shot at curtailing the power of labor unions if Trump names a conservative like Cleveland lawyer Peter Kirsanow as U.S. secretary of labor.

"I think with this new administration, he may see this as an opportunity to try that again," he said.

Why Kasich will be less powerful

Like other lame-duck governors, Kasich will start to lose power and influence during the next two years as administration officials and lawmakers look ahead to what they'll be doing after 2019.

Cabinet members and staffers will leave for other jobs or try to position themselves to be hired by the next administration. Lawmakers will scramble to gain power or at least ally themselves with those who have it - such as Trump, who won Ohio by the largest vote margin in nearly 30 years.

"It's the onset of the ego Olympics," Niven said. "Everybody is going to be looking out for their own profile. Everybody's going to need to plant a flag."

With the ground shifting like this, Kasich will have less leverage to win over legislators or push through his agenda, analysts agreed.

Kasich will try hard to keep his top officials from leaving, as it's difficult to hire top-flight replacements with so little time left in his term, said Curt Steiner, who served as ex-Gov. George Voinovich's chief of staff.

Steiner predicted that Kasich will seek to reorganize his administration before leaving office, creating or eliminating positions and making changes to state boards and commissions.

"John Kasich is one that likes to stir the pot and one that likes to get the blood flowing," Steiner said.

Steiner and others cautioned that, even in the twilight of his administration, Kasich still has a lot of power and isn't afraid to use it.

"Before things move to the next administration in Ohio, I'd say that there's plenty of gas left in the tank in this administration," Steiner said.

Washington takes the lead

What Kasich does in the next two years - and how successful he is - will be deeply affected by what happens in Washington when Trump and a Republican Congress take power.

With Barack Obama out of the White House, Ohio and other states may be given more control over federal funding for things like Medicaid and transportation projects. That would likely please Kasich, who has felt constrained by some federal rules.

But it also creates a lot of uncertainty as well - particularly how Republicans' vow to repeal and replace Obamacare would affect Medicaid expansion, which Kasich spent a lot of effort and political capital to push through in Ohio.

With little power on his own to influence what happens in D.C., Kasich will have to collaborate with Ohio lawmakers such as U.S. Sen. Rob Portman or U.S. House Ways and Means Committee member Pat Tiberi.

Kasich will likely have even less sway with the Trump Administration, given he's been one of the most prominent critics of the president-elect.

"There's kind of a new correlation of forces in Washington, and it's not favorable toward our governor," said Ohio State University political scientist Paul Beck.

Higher office plans?

Kasich's plans for his final years in office will also be affected by his plans for what he'll do after he leaves office.

The governor's plans to explore another presidential run in 2020 were crushed by Trump's unexpected victory last month; speculation now centers on a U.S. Senate run in 2018, or perhaps a return to the private sector.

If Kasich still does have his eye on higher office, such ambition could influence his policy agenda. But Niven said it's hard to imagine what Kasich could do in the next two years that could set him apart from other Republican governors thinking about a White House run.

The key question now, Niven said, is how much Kasich continues to portray himself as the rational opposition to Trump.

Kasich hasn't said much about his plans after he leaves office. But speaking Thursday on the Ohio Senate floor, the governor said he spends a lot of time now trying to determine his purpose in life.

"My purpose is to serve the Lord," he said. "My purpose is to try to live a life a little bigger than myself."