Still, as a student at Case Western Reserve University, Dennis Kucinich entered the race for Cleveland City Council in 1969. 49 years later, Kucinich prepares to write another chapter in one of the longest political careers by announcing his run for the Democratic nomination for Ohio governor.

Kucinich won that council seat not once but three times leading to his eventual run for mayor in 1977 when he became at the time the youngest mayor of a major American city at the age of 31. The road in office was filled with challenges that saw the city go into default and Kucinich embroiled in a battle over control of what would become Cleveland Public Power.

He would publicly fire his police chief which led to a recall effort in 1978 which Kucinich survived, his victory would be short-lived losing in 1979 a bid for re-election to George Voinovich.

Kucinich ran for Ohio Secretary of State in 1982 losing to current U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown. In 1983 he returned to Cleveland City Council before leaving 1985 to launch a brief run as an independent for Ohio governor.

Kucinich would leave elective office for nearly a decade returning to the Ohio State Senate in 1994 and in 1996 launched a successful bid for the U.S. House of Representatives where he would go on to serve for 16 years launching two runs for the Democratic nomination for president along the way in 2004 and 2008.

In 2012 Kucinich's seat in the house was cut up in re-districting forcing him into a runoff election with Rep. Marcy Kaptur. Kucinich campaigned little against his Democratic colleague and lost in a primary.

For the past five years he's been a contributor to FoxNews and just completed a book on his political career leaving room presumably for another chapter that begins with his run for governor.

Kucinich faces fellow Democrats Richard Cordray, Joe Schiavoni, Bill O'Neill and Connie Pillich in the May primary.

At a special election held in Aug. 1983, Kucinich was elected to Cleveland City Council from Ward 12 for another term. In 1985 he gave up his council seat to run for governor of Ohio, but withdrew from the race. In 1994 he won election to the State Senate. In 1996 Kucinich won election to the United States House of Representatives.