Ronald Jason Klein ( ; born July 10, 1957) is an American politician and lawyer who is a former member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

for . He is a member of the Democratic Party and chairs the Jewish Democratic Council of America. He previously served in the

Florida House of Representatives The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the C ...

and the

Florida Senate The Florida Senate is the upper house of the Florida Legislature, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida House of Representatives being the lower house. Article III, Section 1 of the C ...

. He is currently employed by the

law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise consumer, clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and Obligation, respon ...

Holland & Knight.

Early life, education and career

Klein was born in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

. He graduated from Cleveland Heights High School in 1975, and attended

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

, graduating with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

in 1979. While at Ohio State, Klein became a member of the

Alpha Epsilon Pi Alpha Epsilon Pi (), commonly known as AEPi, is a college Fraternities and sororities, fraternity founded at New York University in 1913. The fraternity has more than 150 active chapters across the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and Israel ...

fraternity. Klein also spent time during college as an

intern An internship is a period of work experience offered by an organization for a limited period of time. Once confined to medical graduates, internship is used to practice for a wide range of placements in businesses, non-profit organizations and g ...

at the

Ohio General Assembly The Ohio General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio. It consists of the 99-member Ohio House of Representatives and the 33-member Ohio Senate. Both houses of the General Assembly meet at the Ohio Statehouse in Colu ...

. Klein attended Case Western Reserve University School of Law and graduated with a J.D. degree in 1982.

Florida Legislature

In 1992, Klein defeated ten-year incumbent Steve Press in the Democratic primary to win a seat in the

. Klein was elected to the

in 1996, and served as minority whip in 1998 and as minority leader in 2002–2004.

U.S. House of Representatives

Tenure

On September 29, 2008, Klein voted for the

Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, also known as the "bank bailout of 2008" or the "Wall Street bailout", was a United States federal law enacted during the Great Recession, which created federal programs to "bail out" failing fi ...

During the 111th Congress, he voted for the

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) (), nicknamed the Recovery Act, was a Stimulus (economics), stimulus package enacted by the 111th U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama in February 2009. Developed ...

, American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, and both healthcare bills, Affordable Health Care for America Act which was the House bill and

Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act A patient is any recipient of health care services that are performed by healthcare professionals. The patient is most often ill or injured and in need of treatment by a physician, nurse, optometrist, dentist, veterinarian, or other health ...

which was the Senate bill. He also voted for the reconciliation bill and Dodd-Frank.

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

Political campaigns

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 Clay LaVergne Shaw (March 17, 1913 – August 15, 1974) was an American businessman, military officer, and part-time contact of the Domestic Contact Service (DCS) of the CIA. Shaw is best known for being the only person brought to trial for in ...

. Although Shaw won re-election easily in the 2004 election (his opponent dropped out before the election),

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as the 68th United States secretary of state from 2013 to 2017 in the Presidency of Barack Obama#Administration, administration of Barac ...

carried the district by a margin on 50-48 percent over

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

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 ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American political digital newspaper company founded by American banker and media executive Robert Allbritton in 2007. It covers politics and policy in the Unit ...

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

2008

In 2008, Klein won his race against Republican nominee Allen West with 54.7% of the vote. Klein voted with a majority of his Democratic colleagues 97.9% of the time during the 111th Congress. The nonpartisan

National Journal ''National Journal'' is an advisory services company based in Washington, D.C., offering services in government affairs, advocacy communications, stakeholder mapping, and policy brands research for government and business leaders. It publishes ...

rated him as 58.3 percent liberal and 41.7 conservative based on his voting record.

2010

Klein lost his reelection bid to Republican nominee Allen West in a rematch of the 2008 race.

Post-congressional career

After leaving Congress, Klein was hired by

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

firm Holland & Knight.

Personal life

Ron married Dori Dragin in 1982 and they moved to

Boca Raton, Florida Boca Raton ( ; ) is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population was 97,422 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and it ranked as the 23rd-largest city in Florida in 2022. Many people with a Boca Raton Address, ...

, in 1985. They have two children.

References

External links

Ron Klein Bio
at Holland & Knight
Ron Klein for Congress
''official campaign site'' * * , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Klein, Ron 1957 births Living people American lobbyists Florida lawyers Democratic Party Florida state senators Democratic Party members of the Florida House of Representatives Ohio State University College of Arts and Sciences alumni People from Boca Raton, Florida Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Florida Politicians from Cleveland Case Western Reserve University School of Law alumni Jewish members of the United States House of Representatives Lawyers from Cleveland Holland & Knight people Cleveland Heights High School alumni 21st-century American Jews Members of Congress who became lobbyists 21st-century members of the Florida Legislature 21st-century members of the United States House of Representatives