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. He later became a recognizable figure in the Pittsburgh area as a television news weatherman and reporter on KDKA-TV from 1977 to 1991.
In 1992, Klink sought the Democratic nomination for 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.
Read more about this topic: Ron Klink
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