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 May 20, 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%

Related Research Articles

David Joseph Weldon is an American politician and physician. He was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Florida's 15th congressional district, and was an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican nomination in Florida's 2012 U.S. Senate race.

Joseph Merrill Hoeffel III is an American author and politician. A Democrat, Hoeffel was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1999 to 2005, representing Pennsylvania's 13th congressional district. He also served multiple terms on the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners, and from 1977–84, was a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. A native of Philadelphia, he is a graduate of Boston University and Temple University School of Law.

Wayne Curtis Weldon is an American educator and politician. He served as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1987 to 2007, representing the 7th district of Pennsylvania. He was defeated in November 2006 for reelection by Joe Sestak. Weldon was vice-chair of the Armed Services Committee and the House Homeland Security Committee. He was also the co-chair of the Duma-Congress Study Group, the official inter-parliamentary relationship between the United States and Russia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melissa Hart (politician)</span> American lawyer and politician (born 1962)

Melissa Ann Hart is an American lawyer and politician. She was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 2001 to 2007, representing western Pennsylvania's 4th congressional district. She was the first Republican woman to represent Pennsylvania at the federal level. Prior to her service in Congress, Hart served in the Pennsylvania Senate, where she chaired the finance committee. She was the first Republican woman elected to serve a full term in the Pennsylvania Senate in 1990 when she was 28 years old. In her first run for office, Hart defeated an incumbent in a senate district that included parts of Allegheny, Westmoreland and Armstrong counties. In the 2006 midterm elections, Hart lost her bid for re-election to Democrat Jason Altmire. She challenged Altmire again in the 2008 election, but was defeated again.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Brown (South Carolina politician)</span> American politician (born 1935)

Henry Edward Brown Jr. is an American politician who was the U.S. representative for South Carolina's 1st congressional district from 2001 to 2011. He is a member of the Republican Party. He did not stand for re-election in 2010.

Allyson Schwartz is an American Democratic Party politician who represented parts of Montgomery County and Northeast Philadelphia in the United States House of Representatives from 2005 to 2015 and Northeast and Northwest Philadelphia in the Pennsylvania Senate from 1991 to 2005. She has finished second in a statewide Democratic Party primary twice: for United States Senate in 2000 and for Governor in 2014.

The 2006 United States House of Representatives elections were held on November 7, 2006, to elect members to the United States House of Representatives. It took place in the middle of President George W. Bush's second term in office. All 435 seats of the House were up for election. Those elected served in the 110th United States Congress from January 3, 2007, until January 3, 2009. The incumbent majority party, the Republicans, had won majorities in the House consecutively since 1994, and were defeated by the Democrats who won a majority in the chamber, ending 12 years of Republican control in the House.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Singel</span> Pennsylvania politician

Mark Stephen Singel is an American politician who served as the 27th lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania from 1987 to 1995, alongside Governor Bob Casey. Singel served as the state's acting governor from June 14, 1993 to December 13, 1993, during Casey's lengthy battle with amyloidosis and subsequent multiple organ transplant.

Donald Allen Bailey was an American lawyer and politician from Pennsylvania. He was a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from 1979 to 1983, Auditor General of Pennsylvania from 1985 to 1989, and a candidate for the Democratic nomination for United States Senate and Governor of Pennsylvania. His Congressional District (PA-21) included all of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania with a sliver of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, prior to the 1981 redistricting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Mascara</span> American politician (1930–2011)

Frank Robert Mascara was an American Democratic politician from Pennsylvania who served four terms in the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 2003.

William Markle Berlin was an American businessman and politician who served as a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania for two terms from 1933 to 1937.

Pennsylvania's 12th congressional district is located in southwestern Pennsylvania, including Pittsburgh and much of Allegheny County, as well as some of Westmoreland County. Since January 3, 2023, it has been represented by Summer Lee.

The 2006 United States House elections in Pennsylvania was an election for Pennsylvania's delegation to the United States House of Representatives, which occurred as part of the general election of the House of Representatives on November 7, 2006.

The 2008 congressional elections in Pennsylvania was held on November 4, 2008, to determine who will represent the state of Pennsylvania in the United States House of Representatives. Pennsylvania has 19 seats in the House, apportioned according to the 2000 United States census. Representatives are elected for two-year terms; those elected will serve in the 111th Congress from January 4, 2009, until January 3, 2011. The election coincides with the 2008 U.S. presidential election.

The 2000 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania was held on November 7, 2000 during a year which coincided with a United States presidential election in which Pennsylvania was viewed as a swing state. Pennsylvania was one of four states that elected Republican Senators despite being won by Al Gore in the concurrent presidential election, the others being Maine, Rhode Island and Vermont.

Terry E. Van Horne was a former Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, where he represented the 54th legislative district.

The 2000 United States House elections in Pennsylvania was an election for Pennsylvania's delegation to the United States House of Representatives, which occurred as part of the general election of the House of Representatives on November 7, 2000.

The 2012 United States presidential election in Pennsylvania took place on November 6, 2012, as part of the 2012 United States presidential election in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia participated. The primary election to select the Democratic and Republican candidates had been held on April 24, 2012. Pennsylvania voters chose 20 electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote pitting incumbent Democratic President Barack Obama and his running mate, Vice President Joe Biden, against Republican challenger and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and his running mate, Congressman Paul Ryan. Pennsylvania's electoral vote number was a reduction from the 2008 delegation, which had 21 electors. This change was due to reapportionment following the 2010 United States Census. Pennsylvania's 20 electoral votes are allotted on a winner-take-all basis.

The 2012 United States presidential election in Vermont took place on November 6, 2012, as part of the 2012 United States presidential election in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia participated. Vermont voters chose three electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote pitting incumbent Democratic President Barack Obama and his running mate, Vice President Joe Biden, against Republican challenger and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and his running mate, Congressman Paul Ryan.

The 2004 United States House of Representatives Elections in Florida were held on November 2, 2004 to determine who would represent the state of Florida in the United States House of Representatives. Representatives are elected for two-year terms; those elected served in the 109th Congress from January 3, 2005 to January 3, 2007. The election coincided with the 2004 U.S. presidential election as well as an election to the United States Senate.

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

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[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.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]