Some fun facts about new Ohio Governor Mike DeWine

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Now the 72-year-old Cedarville resident has capped off his career with Ohio governor, which has been a long-time ambition. He took office on Monday.

On the campaign trail running against Democrat Richard Cordray, DeWine says the workforce skills gap, education and the opiate crisis are intertwining issues that will take priority in his administration.

He has pledged to keep expanded Medicaid, a major source of funding for drug treatment; expand resources for foster care; add drug courts across the state; better coordinate worker training programs; and invest more money to expand access to and improve the quality of state-paid day care. He added that he wants Ohio’s K-12 schools to cover drug abuse prevention curricula at every grade level.

“I have proven throughout my career that I bring people together and I fix problems and those are two attributes for a governor,” DeWine said.

Education: DeWine earned his undergraduate degree from Miami University and his law degree from Ohio Northern University.

Family: DeWine married Fran Struewing, his childhood sweetheart; they have eight children, including Ohio Supreme Court Justice Pat DeWine, and 23 grandchildren.

New lt. governor: Ohio Secretary of State and former House speaker Jon Husted, a former Kettering resident and standout football player at the University of Dayton.

Fun fact: For exercise, DeWine walks his dog, Teddy, on a five kilometer course on his farm. The course also hosts an annual high school cross country invitational race.