Ron Klink

Ron Klink
Ron Klink
Member of the U.S.HouseofRepresentatives ; from Pennsylvania's 4th district
	In office; January 3, 1993 –January 3, 2001

Last updated December 08, 2024

Linda Hogan

(m. 1977)

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]

Early life and career

Klink 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

Klink 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

In 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

In 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

He 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

Pennsylvania's 4th congressional district : Results 1992–1998^[6]
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.

Pennsylvania Senator (Class I): 2000 results^[6]
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%

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References

1 2 "Couple Wed In Greensburg". The Daily American. September 30, 1977.
↑ "Ron Klink". Congress.gov. Retrieved 2020-11-08.
1 2 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.
1 2 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.
1 2 "Election Statistics". Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives. Retrieved 2007-08-08.

External links

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)

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Joseph Kolter	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 4th congressional district 1993–2001	Succeeded by Melissa Hart
Party political offices
Preceded by Harris Wofford	Democratic nominee for U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania (Class 1) 2000	Succeeded by Bob Casey
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by Ann Kirkpatrick as Former US Representative	Order of precedence of the United States as Former US Representative	Succeeded by Don Sherwood as Former US Representative

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[name-1] 1 2 "Couple Wed In Greensburg". The Daily American. September 30, 1977.

[2] "Ron Klink". Congress.gov. Retrieved 2020-11-08.

[:0-3] 1 2 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.

[4] "Candidate Profile from Congressional Quarterly: Ron Klink (D) of Murrysville". CNN. 1998.

[:1-5] 1 2 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.

[clerkresults-6] 1 2 "Election Statistics". Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives. Retrieved 2007-08-08.

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