Biography:

Gary King is a scientist, lawyer, former state legislator and accomplished saxophone player. He was born in Albuquerque, the youngest of two sons in a prominent political family. King's father, Bruce, was New Mexico's longest-serving governor, having won election in 1970, 1978 and 1990.

Gary King received a bachelor's degree in chemistry in 1976 from New Mexico State University and played saxophone in a university jazz band. He earned a doctorate in organic chemistry from the University of Colorado in 1980. He returned to his home state and received a law degree from the University of New Mexico in 1983.

He formed a law firm in the community of Moriarty and later became general counsel of Albuquerque-based Advanced Sciences Inc., an environmental engineering and waste management corporation.

King won election to the state House of Representatives in 1986 and served six terms before unsuccessfully seeking the Democratic nomination for governor in 1998. He then worked for the U.S. Energy Department for two years when Bill Richardson ran the federal agency.

King positioned himself for a congressional bid by moving to Carlsbad in 2003 and opening a law office. Much of his legal work has been on permit issues for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in Carlsbad. His wife, Yolanda, has a doctorate in chemical laser kinetics and is an adviser for an Air Force research laboratory in Albuquerque.

Past Campaigns:

Gary King won the Democratic nomination in the 2nd Congressional District in the June primary with more than 60 percent of the vote. He defeated Jeff Steinborn of Las Cruces, a former congressional aide and son of a former Las Cruces mayor.

He ran unsuccessfully for the state Senate in 1984. He was elected to the state House of Representatives in 1986 and served 12 years. He finished second in a six-way primary for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in 1998. He received 30 percent of the vote but trailed the winner _ Martin Chavez _ by 30,000 votes.

He briefly sought the party's nomination for governor in 2002 but dropped out before the primary to avoid a potentially divisive contest against the front-runner, Bill Richardson, who went on to win the general election.

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