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	Ronald Klink (1951-09-23) September 23, 1951 (age 70) Canton, Ohio
Political party	Democratic
Education	Meyersdale Area High School
Profession	Broadcaster

Ronald Klink (born September 23, 1951) is a Democratic 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.^[1]

Early life and career[]

Klink was born in Canton, Ohio, and graduated from Meyersdale High School in Pennsylvania in 1969.^[2]

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.^[3] 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.^[2] 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.^[3] The agent was thought to be Iranian arms dealer Manucher Ghorbanifar. The intelligence reportedly later proved to be fabricated.

Electoral history[]

*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.

See also[]

• 2000 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania

References[]

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 2000-04-20^{(Date mismatch)})