Ron Klink

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	September 23, 1951 Canton, Ohio
Political party	Democratic

Ronald "Ron" Klink (born September 23, 1951) is a Democratic politician and former United States Representative from Pennsylvania.

Biography

Klink was born in Canton, Ohio, and graduated from Meyersdale High School in Pennsylvania in 1969. 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.

In 1992, Klink sought the Democratic nomination for the 4th District and defeated five-term incumbent Joe Kolter in the primary. He was easily reelected in November and served four terms in the House. Klink was popular within his district as a moderate Democrat with strong labor ties.

In 2000, he left his House seat to run unsuccessfully for the Senate against incumbent Rick Santorum. 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.

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. 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^[1]

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^[1]

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

• United States Senate election in Pennsylvania, 2000

References

• 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. Washington, D.C.: Regnery. ISBN 0-89526-005-0.
• The Front, The American Prospect, April 4, 2005
  • "Biography of Representative Klink". Archived from the original on April 20, 2000. Retrieved December 1, 2016.

• United States Congress. "Ron Klink (id: K000270)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

1. "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

• Voting record maintained by the Washington Post
• Congressman Ron Klink's Webpage at the Wayback Machine (archive index)