Ronald Paul Klink[1] (born September 23, 1951) is an American television broadcaster and politician and who served four terms as a United States Representative from Pennsylvania from 1993 to 2001, as member of the Democratic Party.[2]
Ron Klink | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 4th district | |
| In office January 3, 1993 – January 3, 2001 | |
| Preceded by | Joseph Kolter |
| Succeeded by | Melissa Hart |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Ronald Paul Klink September 23, 1951 Canton, Ohio, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse |
Linda Hogan (m. 1977) |
Early life and career
editKlink was born in Canton, Ohio, and graduated from Meyersdale High School in Pennsylvania in 1969.[3] He married Linda Loree Hogan in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, on August 27, 1977.[1][4]
Broadcasting career
editKlink originally worked behind the scenes at WTAJ-TV in Altoona, Pennsylvania from 1976 to 1977 and then became weatherman plus fill-in sports anchor until his departure for Pittsburgh in July 1978. He later became a recognizable figure in the Pittsburgh area as a television news weatherman and reporter on KDKA-TV from 1978 to 1991.
Congress
editIn 1992, Klink sought the Democratic nomination for the 4th District and defeated five-term incumbent Joe Kolter in the primary.[5] He was easily elected in November and served four terms in the House, never winning less than 64 percent of the vote. Klink was popular within his district as a moderate Democrat with strong labor ties.
2000 Senate campaign
editIn 2000, he left his House seat to run unsuccessfully for the Senate against incumbent Rick Santorum.[3] Klink lost the race by five points. Klink was virtually unknown on the eastern side of Pennsylvania (including the important Philadelphia area). Other contributing factors included his conservative stances on social issues and the fact that he had to spend a large amount of money in the crowded Democratic primary.
After Congress
editHe had been mentioned as a possible candidate for his own congressional seat against the person who succeeded him, Republican Melissa Hart. However, in December 2005, Klink announced he would not run.
According to then-Congressman Curt Weldon in his book Countdown to Terror, in 2003, Klink offered Weldon the identity of an intelligence source with information on Iraqi uranium purchases.[5] The agent was thought to be Iranian arms dealer Manucher Ghorbanifar. The intelligence reportedly later proved to be fabricated.
Electoral history
edit| Year | Democrat | Votes | Pct | Republican | Votes | Pct | 3rd Party | Party | Votes | Pct | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Ron Klink | 186,684 | 78% | Gordon R. Johnston | 48,484 | 20% | Drew Ley | None of Above | 2,754 | 1% | ||||
| 1994 | Ron Klink | 119,115 | 64% | Ed Peglow | 66,509 | 36% | * | |||||||
| 1996 | Ron Klink | 142,621 | 64% | Paul T. Adametz | 79,448 | 36% | * | |||||||
| 1998 | Ron Klink | 103,183 | 64% | Mike Turzai | 58,485 | 36% | * |
*Write-in and minor candidate notes: In 1994, write-ins received 6 votes. In 1996, write-ins received 98 votes. In 1998, write-ins received 17 votes.
| Year | Democrat | Votes | Pct | Republican | Votes | Pct | 3rd Party | Party | Votes | Pct | 3rd Party | Party | Votes | Pct | 3rd Party | Party | Votes | Pct | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Ron Klink | 2,154,908 | 46% | Rick Santorum | 2,481,962 | 52% | John J. Featherman | Libertarian | 45,775 | 1% | Lester Searer | Constitution | 28,382 | 1% | Robert Domske | Reform | 24,089 | 1% |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "Couple Wed In Greensburg". The Daily American. September 30, 1977.
- ^ "Ron Klink". Congress.gov. Retrieved 2020-11-08.
- ^ a b MacPherson, Karen (March 26, 2000). "Ron Klink: The Congressman from Murrysville". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Archived from the original on 2020-11-13. Retrieved 2020-11-08.
- ^ "Candidate Profile from Congressional Quarterly: Ron Klink (D) of Murrysville". CNN. 1998.
- ^ a b Weldon, Curt (2005). Countdown to terror : the top-secret information that could prevent the next terrorist attack on America-- and how the CIA has ignored it. Regnery Pub. ISBN 9780895260055.
- ^ a b "Election Statistics". Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives. Retrieved 2007-08-08.
External links
edit
Media related to Ron Klink at Wikimedia Commons
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- Voting record maintained by the Washington Post
- Congressman Ron Klink's Webpage at the Wayback Machine (archived 2000-08-15)