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Ron Klein
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida's 22nd district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2007
Preceded by	E. Clay Shaw, Jr.
Personal details
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Dori Dragin
Residence	Boca Raton, Florida
Alma mater	Ohio State University, Case Western Reserve University
Occupation	Attorney

Ronald "Ron" Klein (born July 10, 1957) is an American politician from the U.S. state of Florida. Klein, a Democrat, served in the Florida House of Representatives from 1993 to 1996 and in the Florida Senate from 1996 till 2006, where he was the Senate minority leader.

Klein was elected in the 2006 House election in Florida's 22nd congressional district, defeating 13-term Republican incumbent Clay Shaw. He took office on January 3, 2007.

Early life

Klein was born in Cleveland, Ohio. He graduated from Cleveland Heights High School in 1975, and attended Ohio State University, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science in 1979.

While at Ohio State, Klein became a member of the Alpha Epsilon Pi Fraternity. Klein also spent time during college as an intern at the Ohio General Assembly. Klein attended Case Western Reserve University School of Law and graduated with a law degree in 1982. Ron married Dori Dragin in 1982 and they moved to Boca Raton, Florida in 1985. They have two children - Brian and Lauren.

Florida legislature

In 1992, Klein defeated ten-year incumbent Steve Press in the Democratic primary to win a seat in the Florida House of Representatives. Klein became a member of the Florida Senate in 1996, and served as minority whip in 1998 and as minority leader in 2002–2004.

Legal career

Klein was a Director at the Boca Raton, Florida, law firm of Sachs Sax & Klein. His practice was focused on transactional law.

Election history

2006

Klein ran for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in Florida's 22nd congressional district against 13-term Republican incumbent Clay Shaw. Although Shaw won re-election easily in the 2004 election (his opponent dropped out before the election), John Kerry carried the district by a margin on 50-48 percent over George W. Bush in 2004.

On Election Day 2006, Klein defeated Shaw by a margin of 51%-48% and assumed office when the 110th Congress convened on January 4, 2007. Klein was aided by voter discontent over the war in Iraq and the scandal involving Republican Congressman Mark Foley in the neighboring district.

On December 18, 2007, the magazine Politico named Ron Klein as its "Rookie of the Year", citing his willingness to cross party lines and his ability to get major legislation passed.

However, Klein has voted with a majority of his Democratic colleagues 97.9% of the time during the current Congress.

2008

Klein won his race against Republican nominee Allen West.

Congressional career

Committee assignments

• Committee on Financial Services
  • Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance and Government Sponsored Enterprises
  • Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit
• Committee on Foreign Affairs
  • Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade
  • Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia
  • Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere

Policy positions

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (December 2009)

Economic issues

On September 29, 2008, Klein voted for the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 He voted for the federal Health Care reform legislation.

References

1. Florida Department of State - Election Reporting System
2. Ted Deutch's FL Senate member page.
3. Parnes, Amie (2007-12-18). "Hard work helps freshman get ahead". The Politico. Retrieved 19 December 2009.
4. = The Washington Post
5. "Bailout Roll Call" (PDF). 2008-09-29. Retrieved September 29, 2008.

External links

• Congressman Ron Klein official U.S. House site
• Ron Klein for Congress official campaign website

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Profile at Vote Smart
• Profile at SourceWatch Congresspedia

• 1957 births
• Living people
• Florida lawyers
• Florida State Senators
• Members of the Florida House of Representatives
• Members of the United States House of Representatives from Florida
• Ohio State University alumni
• People from Boca Raton, Florida
• Florida Democrats
• People from Cleveland, Ohio
• Case Western Reserve University School of Law alumni
• Jewish members of the United States House of Representatives