Summary
Current Position: US Representative of NY District 2 since 1993
Affiliation: Republican
Peter Thomas King (born April 5, 1944) is a former American politician who represented New York in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1993 to 2021. He represented a South Shore Long Island district that includes parts of Nassau County and Suffolk County and was numbered as the 3rd and later the 2nd district.
King was formerly Chair of the House Committee on Homeland Security, where he drew attention in early 2011 for holding hearings on the extent of radicalization of American Muslims. He stepped down because of Republican conference term limits, but remained a member of the Committee. On November 11, 2019, King announced he would not seek re-election in the 2020 elections and would retire after his current term expired. He resigned from the Financial Services Committee on January 15, 2020. King also previously served on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
Source: Wikipedia
OnAir Post: Peter T. King
About
Source: Wikipedia
Political career
King first sought public office in 1977, running for an at-large seat on the Hempstead, New York Town Council and winning with the backing of the then-powerful Nassau County Republican Party machine led by Joseph Margiotta. In 1981, he successfully ran for Nassau County Comptroller, again with Margiotta’s support. The next year, when several prominent Republican politicians, led by then Senator Alfonse D’Amato, sought to displace Margiotta, King joined them in this internal Republican dispute; at one point, he was the only Nassau politician to do so. King was re-elected in 1985 and 1989. As Comptroller, he displayed independence, often criticizing the budget proposals of County Executives Francis Purcell and later County Executive Thomas Gulotta, both Republicans.
King ran for Attorney General of New York in 1986, but was defeated by a large margin by incumbent Democratic Attorney General Robert Abrams.
King was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1992. When Democratic Party Rep. Robert Mrazek announced his short-lived 1992 U.S. Senate candidacy against Republican incumbent Al D’Amato, King ran for the Third District congressional seat that had been held by Mrazek. Despite being outspent 5-to-1, King won 49.6% to 46.5%. From 1993 to 2008, he sometimes faced only token opposition, while in other races, he ran against candidates who could self-finance their campaigns. Although King was outspent in those races, he won by double-digit margins.
In 2006, Nassau County Legislator Dave Mejias challenged King. While some pundits believed this race would be close due to dissatisfaction with President George W. Bush,[14] King defeated Mejias 56% to 44%. King again sought re-election to Congress in 2008. The Democrats fielded 25-year-old newcomer Graham Long in a long-shot bid to defeat King.[15] King won the 2008 election with 64% of the vote.
In 2013, St. John’s University honored King with a Doctor of Laws degree, and he gave their commencement address. He was recognized for assisting New York City following Hurricane Sandy.
Web
Government Page, Campaign Site, Twitter, YouTube, Wikipedia
Politics
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