The answer.

President Obama has visited Ohio 12 times since he was inaugurated.

That was the most of any state with a major competitive race this year.

And John Kasich still won.

Late last week Fox News Opinion submitted their own thoughts on just how important the victory was from the perspective of the 2012 election:

With the dust still settling from Tuesday's historic election results, the pundits are busy sizing up what to make of it all. The shift of power in the U.S. House, the national gains by Republicans, the impact of the Tea Party and the implications of all of the above are hot topics. And names like Marco Rubio, Rand Paul, and Ron Johnson are dominating the discourse.

Still, with all due respect to the field of this week's victors, the storyline of one winner stands above the rest: John Kasich is the governor-elect of Ohio.

But more telling than just his win is how he did it: by withstanding an Obama onslaught; turning back liberal fear attacks with a message of hope; and offering a leaner, more efficient alternative to big government run amuck.

In short, if Barack Obama’s spend and tax presidency for the past two years is a question, John Kasich emerged Tuesday night as the logical answer.

Now this isn't to say that John Kasich should run for President. Instead, this is about how to counter the President's likely tactics come time to run for re-election. And John Kasich's campaign provides a blueprint to whomever will be our nominee.

[...]

In delivering a campaign and message that were pitch-perfect, the son of a mailman with working class roots provided a blueprint on going toe-to-toe with Obama and coming out on top.

Kasich took the president’s best shot – 12 of them to be exact – and never strayed from the notion that results trump rhetoric.

Of course, it helps that Kasich is Kasich. His record of results is impressive. In particular, as chairman of the U.S. House Budget Committee through much of the '90s, he’s remembered fondly as the last man to balance our nation’s budget. At the time, it was a feat that hadn’t been accomplished since a man walked on the moon.

Today, thanks to the Obama administration’s spending spree, it’s an achievement that seems less likely than catching a cow jumping over the same planet.

Ohio is the presidential firewall. Of that there is no dispute.

Since 1860, no Republican has won the presidency without also winning Ohio. If Obama can win the Buckeye state, history is clearly on his side.

Kasich is now the President's opposition in one of the most vital states of the 2012 election. And the Governor-elect's style of governing will be the polar opposite of Obama's - Principle over rhetoric. Hope over fear.

It's on.

So goes Ohio, so goes the nation.