15 things about Mike DeWine
1. DeWine was born in Springfield, Ohio, Jan. 5, 1947.
2. DeWine's 183-year-old Cedarville, Ohio, home was the birthplace of journalist Whitelaw Reid, the 1892 Republican nominee for vice president.
3. Cataract surgery as a boy left DeWine nearly blind in his right eye.
4. Beginning at age 13, he worked after school and summers for his family's seed company in Yellow Springs, Ohio. He made $1.25 an hour.
5. He and his wife, Fran, have been married for 38 years and have eight children and nine grandchildren.
6. He graduated from Miami University in Ohio in 1969 with a bachelor's degree in education and from Ohio Northern University Law School in 1972.
7. An Ohio prosecutor for several years, he won election to the Ohio state Senate in 1980 at age 33.
8. In 1980, Fran DeWine published a cookbook, Fran DeWine's Family Favorites, which has become a campaign tradition. The cookbook is now in its 10th edition.
9. DeWine was first elected to the House in 1982. He sponsored a bill to designate May 1987 as "Courtesy Is Contagious Month." In 1994, he was elected to the Senate.
10. DeWine was one of only four Republican senators to endorse John McCain in the 2000 election. Joined by Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, Jon Kyl of Arizona, and Fred Thompson of Tennessee, the group was dubbed the "Four Musketeers."
11. DeWine's 22-year-old daughter, Becky, was killed in a car wreck in 1993. The tragedy led to his involvement in promoting public awareness of organ donation programs.
12. In the summer, he and his wife pack the family into an RV and travel around Ohio, trying to visit as many as 21 counties and meet with constituents along the way.
13. The notorious blog "Washingtonienne," chronicling the sexual escapades of a Capitol Hill staffer, was written by DeWine staffer Jessica Cutler. She was fired when her identity was revealed.
14. DeWine cosponsored a law to preserve sites along the Underground Railroad, the network of trails used to help slaves escape the South during the Civil War, which passed through Cedarville, Ohio.
15. DeWine is depicted on a totem pole for a Broadview Heights company along with President Bush and Sen. George Voinovich.