Ron Klein

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Ron Klein

United States Representative from Florida's 22nd district
In office Term Starts January 2007
Preceded by	Clay Shaw
Succeeded by	Incumbent

Born	July 10, 1957 Cleveland, Ohio
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Dori Dragin
Religion	Jewish

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 1993-1996 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.

1 Early life
2 Florida legislature
3 Legal Career
4 2006 Congressional race
5 External links

[edit] 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 was 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.

[edit] 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 ([1]). Klein became a member of the Florida Senate in 1996, and served as minority whip in 1998 and as minority leader in 2002-2004 ([2]).

[edit] Legal Career

Klein is a Director at the Boca Raton, Florida law firm of Sachs Sax Klein. His practice is focused on transactional law ([3]).

[edit] 2006 Congressional race

Main article: Florida U.S. House election, 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. Alhough 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.

As of the end of June 2006, Klein had over $2 million cash on hand. Klein's fundraising ability combined with his voting record and his friendship with neighboring Congressman Robert Wexler make him one of the Democrats' top House challengers. The revelation that Shaw has lung cancer made the race even more unpredictable.

On Election Day 2006, Klein beat Shaw and became the congressman that will represent the district in the 110th Congress.

Political offices
Preceded by Clay Shaw	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida's 22nd congressional district 2007-Present	Succeeded by Incumbent