Washington (CNN) Ohio Gov. John Kasich burst onto the Republican playing field Tuesday with a freewheeling and, at times, emotional speech that hit on two main points: Americans should be working together and he can win, despite long odds.

The second-term Ohio governor told his life story for 45 minutes Tuesday at his alma mater, Ohio State University. And it was 20 minutes into his speech, at times meandering and sounding unscripted, before he made it official:

"I am here to ask you for your prayers, for your support ... because I have decided to run for president of the United States," Kasich told the crowd of roughly 4,000.

Kasich tacked to the left throughout his speech, in a way that no other Republican candidate has this cycle, touching on themes of unity and support.

"There are those who say 'Just work harder.' 'Pull yourselves up by your bootstraps.' I believe in all of that. Some people just don't have the fortune we have," he said.

Later in his speech, Kasich -- who has been criticized heavily for expanding Medicaid under the President Barack Obama's signature health care law -- asked for empathy.

"The Lord wants our hearts to reach out to those who don't have what we have," he said. "That shouldn't be hard for America, that's who we are. Empathy. Don't be so quick too judge."

As he becomes the 16th major Republican candidate to enter the field, Kasich faces an immediate hurdle of trying to make it onstage for the first Republican debate. Fox News has said only the top 10 candidates in national polling will make the cut and Kasich has been trailing in the back of the pack with former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal.

Kasich hinted at his task in a refrain throughout his speech, laying down the argument for why he could upend the frontrunners in the wide-open field.

"They said it couldn't be done, and we proved them wrong again" Kasich said, as he recounted his first run for Congress, then his 2010 run for governor.

Though he waited until Tuesday to announce, the Kasich campaign has effectively been up and running for months. His affiliated campaign group, New Day for America, began airing its second television ad in New Hampshire this week. He blasted his way on-air late in June with the first major buy of the cycle, spending $1.7 million to introduce himself to New Hampshire voters.

Now, as he formalized his bid 20 minutes into his speech Tuesday, Kasich will be looking to ride the post-announcement bump into the top 10 candidates -- the group that will be able to participate in the first GOP debate next month sponsored by Fox Next.

The 63-year-old Republican has a resume tailor-made for presidential politics: elected twice statewide in battleground Ohio, worked in the private sector and served nearly two decades in Congress, which included a six-year run as chairman of the House Budget Committee.

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Kasich launches his presidential campaign near the back of the pack in the polls. A CNN/ORC survey released in July showed the Ohio Republican with just 2% support among likely GOP primary voters. And the latest average tallied by RealClearPolitics has Kasich at 1.5% nationwide, and in 12th place, just behind former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum.

His candidacy offers mainstream Republicans another option alongside former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio.

As he looks to differentiate himself, his calling card may end up being his blunt and sometimes prickly style -- which could be spun to present a straight-talking candidate, ready to break out of typical molds.

Kasich previously sought the presidency 16 years ago, but withdrew from the race in July 1999 and endorsed George W. Bush. During that campaign he referred to himself as the "Jolt Cola" of the Republican field to draw a contrast between his lively personality and what he saw as less exciting candidates.

Photos: Potential 2016 presidential candidates Photos: Potential 2016 presidential candidates Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has said his decision to run for the Republican nomination will be based on two things: his family and whether he can lift America's spirit. His father and brother are former Presidents. Hide Caption 1 of 19 Photos: Potential 2016 presidential candidates Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has created a political committee that will help him travel and raise money while he considers a 2016 bid. Additionally, billionaire businessman David Koch said in a private gathering in Manhattan this month that he wants Walker to be the next president, but he doesn't plan to back anyone in the primaries. Hide Caption 2 of 19 Photos: Potential 2016 presidential candidates Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is establishing a committee to formally explore a White House bid. "If I run, my candidacy will be based on the idea that the American people are ready to try a dramatically different direction," he said in a news release provided to CNN on Monday, May 18 Hide Caption 3 of 19 Photos: Potential 2016 presidential candidates Sen. Bernie Sanders , an independent from Vermont who caucuses with Democrats, has said the United States needs a "political revolution" of working-class Americans looking to take back control of the government from billionaires. He first announced the run in an email to supporters early on the morning of Thursday, April 30. Hide Caption 4 of 19 Photos: Potential 2016 presidential candidates On March 2, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson announced the launch of an exploratory committee. The move will allow him to raise money that could eventually be transferred to an official presidential campaign and indicates he is on track with stated plans to formally announce a bid in May. Hide Caption 5 of 19 Photos: Potential 2016 presidential candidates South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham has said he'll make a decision about a presidential run sometime soon. A potential bid could focus on Graham's foreign policy stance. Hide Caption 6 of 19 Photos: Potential 2016 presidential candidates Hillary Clinton launched her presidential bid Sunday, April 12, through a video message on social media. She continues to be considered the overwhelming front-runner among possible 2016 Democratic presidential candidates. Hide Caption 7 of 19 Photos: Potential 2016 presidential candidates Sen. Marco Rubio announced his bid for the 2016 presidency on Monday, April 13, a day after Hillary Clinton, with a rally in Florida. He's a Republican rising star from Florida who swept into office in 2010 on the back of tea party fervor. But his support of comprehensive immigration reform, which passed the Senate but has stalled in the House, has led some in his party to sour on his prospects. Hide Caption 8 of 19 Photos: Potential 2016 presidential candidates Lincoln Chafee, a Republican-turned-independent-turned-Democrat former governor and senator of Rhode Island, said he's running for president on Thursday, April 16, as a Democrat, but his spokeswoman said the campaign is still in the presidential exploratory committee stages. Hide Caption 9 of 19 Photos: Potential 2016 presidential candidates Jim Webb, the former Democratic senator from Virginia, is entertaining a 2016 presidential run. In January, he told NPR that his party has not focused on white, working-class voters in past elections. Hide Caption 10 of 19 Photos: Potential 2016 presidential candidates Vice President Joe Biden has twice before made unsuccessful bids for the Oval Office -- in 1988 and 2008. A former senator known for his foreign policy and national security expertise, Biden made the rounds on the morning shows recently and said he thinks he'd "make a good President." Hide Caption 11 of 19 Photos: Potential 2016 presidential candidates New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has started a series of town halls in New Hampshire to test the presidential waters, becoming more comfortable talking about national issues and staking out positions on hot topic debates. Hide Caption 12 of 19 Photos: Potential 2016 presidential candidates Rep. Paul Ryan, a former 2012 vice presidential candidate and fiscally conservative budget hawk, says he's keeping his "options open" for a possible presidential run but is not focused on it. Hide Caption 13 of 19 Photos: Potential 2016 presidential candidates Sen. Rand Paul officially announced his presidential bid on Tuesday, April 7, at a rally in Louisville, Kentucky. The tea party favorite probably will have to address previous controversies that include comments on civil rights, a plagiarism allegation and his assertion that the top NSA official lied to Congress about surveillance. Hide Caption 14 of 19 Photos: Potential 2016 presidential candidates Texas Sen. Ted Cruz announced his 2016 presidential bid on Monday, March 23, in a speech at Liberty University. The first-term Republican and tea party darling is considered a gifted orator and smart politician. He is best known in the Senate for his marathon filibuster over defunding Obamacare. Hide Caption 15 of 19 Photos: Potential 2016 presidential candidates Democrat Martin O'Malley, the former Maryland governor, released a "buzzy" political video in November 2013 in tandem with visits to New Hampshire. He also headlined a Democratic Party event in South Carolina, which holds the first Southern primary. Hide Caption 16 of 19 Photos: Potential 2016 presidential candidates Republican Rick Perry, the former Texas governor, announced in 2013 that he would not be seeking re-election, leading to speculation that he might mount a second White House bid. Hide Caption 17 of 19 Photos: Potential 2016 presidential candidates Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, a social conservative, gave Mitt Romney his toughest challenge in the nomination fight last time out and has made trips recently to early voting states, including Iowa and South Carolina. Hide Caption 18 of 19 Photos: Potential 2016 presidential candidates Political observers expect New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to yield to Hillary Clinton's run in 2016, fearing there wouldn't be room in the race for two Democrats from the Empire State. Hide Caption 19 of 19

This time, however, he said he's staffed up and ready to run.

"I've done this before. The problem was last time that I had this jet airplane ready to take off but I didn't have any gas for it. It never got into the air," Kasich said earlier this month, following a meeting of Washington backers he convened near the Capitol. "I learned a lot from that."

More than a decade-and-a-half later, Kasich is still full of energy, and is not shy about taking on his fellow Republicans: He has accepted Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act, supports Common Core education standards and has allowed for the possibility of a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.

The Ohio 'formula'

That call-it-like-he-sees-it style has helped raise Kasich's political stock, at least in Ohio. The Republican scored a resounding victory in his 2014 re-election fight, receiving 64% of the vote and winning all but two of the Buckeye State's 88 counties, albeit against a flawed Democratic challenger.

That 2014 victory was even more remarkable considering Kasich's standing just a few years earlier. Shortly after taking office, Kasich pushed to end the collective bargaining rights for public employee unions in the state, a bruising battle that saw his approval ratings dip into the 30s. In November 2011, Ohio voters rejected the measure at the ballot by a 22-point margin, 61% to 39%.

Photos: John Kasich's political career Photos: John Kasich's political career Ohio Gov. John Kasich speaks at the First in the Nation Republican Leadership Summit on April 18, 2015, in Nashua, New Hampshire. The summit was attended by all the 2016 Republican candidates as well as those eying a run for the nomination. Click through for more on the political career of Kasich: Hide Caption 1 of 11 Photos: John Kasich's political career Kasich speaks during the Republican National Convention at the Tampa Bay Times Forum on August 28, 2012, in Florida. Hide Caption 2 of 11 Photos: John Kasich's political career Kasich, left, and then-Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney talk with students during a roundtable discussion at Otterbein University on April 27, 2012 in Westerville, Ohio. Romney eventually won the 2012 GOP presidential nomination. Hide Caption 3 of 11 Photos: John Kasich's political career Kasich, left, President Barack Obama, center, and Republican House Speaker John Boehner play the first hole of a golf game on June 18, 2011, at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. Hide Caption 4 of 11 Photos: John Kasich's political career Kasich listens to Obama speak during a bipartisan meeting of governors hosted by the President and Vice President Joe Biden in the State Dining Room of the White House on February 28, 2010. Hide Caption 5 of 11 Photos: John Kasich's political career Before officially taking office as governor of Ohio, Kasich talks with reporters after meeting with House and Senate Republican leaders at the U.S. Capitol on December 1, 2010. The GOP leaders talked about ways to create jobs, cut spending and repeal the health care law. Hide Caption 6 of 11 Photos: John Kasich's political career Kasich, right, then a member of the U.S. House, sports "Bush" baseball caps with Texas Gov. George W. Bush on July 14, 1999. The two lawmakers held a news conference at the Ronald Reagan International Trade Center in Washington during Bush's presidential run. Kasich had previously announced that he was withdrawing from the 2000 presidential race and endorsed Bush. Hide Caption 7 of 11 Photos: John Kasich's political career U.S. Rep. Kasich delivers a speech in the Watergate complex in Washington on July 9, 1999, during the College Republican National Committee 53rd Biennial Convention. Other speakers included Republican 2000 presidential hopefuls such as Gary Bauer and Elizabeth Dole. Hide Caption 8 of 11 Photos: John Kasich's political career During a U.S. government shutdown, Kasich, left, and Sen. Pete Domenici, R-New Mexico, speak to reporters outside the White House on January 6, 1996. Hide Caption 9 of 11 Photos: John Kasich's political career Kasich shows a videotape of President Bill Clinton speaking during a news conference on Capitol Hill on December 16, 1995. Kasich was chairman of the House Budget Committee at the time and disputed Clinton's position on the budget. Hide Caption 10 of 11 Photos: John Kasich's political career Kasich, center, shows a thank you note in the form of a check to Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, left, and Senate Majority Leader Robert Dole (right) on November 17, 1995, in Washington. They were soon engaged in bruising battles with President Bill Clinton over the federal budget. Hide Caption 11 of 11

"It's clear the people have spoken," Kasich said in the aftermath of the defeat. "I heard their voices. I understand their decision. And frankly, I respect what the people have to say in an effort like this. And as a result of that, it requires me to take a deep breath and to spend some time to reflect on what happened here."

Less than two years later, Kasich took a step that would roil some conservatives, announcing in February of 2013 that Ohio would accept federal money under President Obama's health care law to dramatically expand Medicaid coverage to some 275,000 residents. The decision resulted in a months-long fight with GOP state lawmakers, but Kasich ultimately prevailed in an effort that he has framed as both an economic and moral cause.

"I'm proud of what we've been doing for the people who have been living in the shadows, living under a bridge or whatever," Kasich said during a Republican Governors Association panel last November. "And the people have responded to it. Conservatives in my state have responded to it by and large."

The effort did not appear to have any lingering effects by the time November 2014 rolled around, with 88% of conservatives saying they backed Kasich for a second term, according to exit polls. But it was Kasich's ability to expand his support among groups that Republicans have struggled to win over at the national level, winning 60% of women, 59% of moderates and 26% of African-Americans.

Kasich suggests other Republicans should be following his example if they want to take back the White House next year.

"I think it's a formula for the country. Look at problems and fix them. Don't be worried about the next election," Kasich told CNN's Gloria Borger during a visit to South Carolina in February. "I mean, too many politicians worry about getting elected as they do their job -- if they worried more about doing their job they'd get elected.

His own brand of conservatism

No Republican has waged a successful campaign for the White House without winning Ohio. And there is one thing Kasich says will not work with Buckeye State voters: extremism.

"If somebody comes into Ohio and they're extreme, they're not going to win," Kasich told CNN. "I mean, we don't operate that way in Ohio."

That has been a common refrain for Kasich as he explored a potential presidential bid earlier this year. During a March appearance in New Hampshire Kasich blasted "all the divisions in America" and said leaders should "cross their own interest groups and reach out to unite and lift Americans."

The challenge for Kasich, though, is selling a more pragmatic brand of politics to a conservative GOP primary electorate eager to draw sharp contrasts with President Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the likely Democratic nominee in 2016.

Kasich has an answer ready for critics who contend his approach to governing does not line up with conservative principles.

"You know what, I've got as much a right as anybody in the Republican Party to define what conservatism means," Kasich told CNN in February. "I was the governor of Ohio that took an $8 billion hole and produced a surplus. We've cut taxes more than anybody in the country, and they're wondering about my conservatism? Maybe I should wonder about theirs."

'Crusade' to balance the budget

There is one policy area where it is hard to deny Kasich's conservative chops: the budget.

The fiscal health of the country has been a focus of the Ohio Republican for decades. Kasich describes himself as the "chief architect" of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, signed by President Bill Clinton, which resulted in the first federal budget surplus since the late 1960s.

Last December, fresh off his 2014 re-election victory, Kasich launched what he dubbed a "crusade" to adopt a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which included travel to the key early voting states of South Carolina and New Hampshire, as well as others such as Idaho and Utah.

"If you don't manage the debt, it'll kill you," Kasich said during a March stop in New Hampshire, pledging to "travel all over America" to promote his agenda.

An opening for Kasich

When he was mulling a bid earlier this year, Kasich said that one of the key factors in his decision would be whether there was a way for him to win the White House.

Amid a field of bigger-name contenders -- like Bush and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker -- Kasich looks crowded out. However, his affiliated "New Day" group announced a combined fundraising haul of $11.5 million during a somewhat-abbreviated period starting from May 1, enough for the Kasich team to land in the middle of the pack.

And Kasich has the backing of a handful of key Republicans, including top media strategists from Sen. John McCain's 2008 bid, Fred Davis and John Weaver, and former New Hampshire Sen. John Sununu, something Kasich often points out.

"Give me somebody better than John Sununu in New Hampshire, tell me who it is," Kasich said earlier this month. "I can't figure out who it would be. Maybe (former) Gov. (John) Sununu, his father. But I'll take young John."