Even in a time of eroding Republican influence, New York Congressman Peter King has remained solidly anchored in his home turf.

Raised in Queens, the son of a New York City cop, King graduated from St. Francis College in Brooklyn and received his law degree from the University of Notre Dame -- home of the Fighting Irish.

Which was most appropriate for King, who has always proudly displayed his Irish heritage and rarely passes up the opportunity for a good fight.

Even if he has to go overseas to find it. As a Nassau County public official in the 1980s (Hempstead Town Council and county comptroller), King made numerous trips to Northern Ireland to meet with members of the Irish Republican Army. On at least one occasion, he appeared and spoke at a pro-IRA rally in the U.S., declaring in 1982 at such an event in Nassau County: "We must pledge ourselves to support those brave men and women who this very moment are carrying forth the struggle against British imperialism in the streets of Belfast and Derry."

Back home, King spotted an open door to higher office when Third Congressional District Congressman Robert Mrazek, a Democrat, stepped down to run for the U.S. Senate against Alphonse D'Amato. Outspent 5-1 by opponent Steve Orlins, King managed to prevail by a slim margin.

Since then, King has won seven more times, peaking with 71 percent of the vote against Stewart Finz in 2002. In 2006, however, he faced stronger than usual oppposition from Democrat David Mejias, although still winning with 56 percent.

Among other things, King's constituents seem to like his outspokedness and his staunch support for anything having to do with Homeland Security. He knew many of the people who died on September 11 in the World Trade Center, and he took it personally.

Yet while King's political views are puganciously conservative (he has appeared as a guest on the "O'Reilly Factor"), they aren't always predictable. In 1999, he was one of the few Republicans to oppose impeaching Bill Clinton. In 2000, he supported John McCain over George W. Bush, only warming to Bush after the World Trade Center bombings.

In 2006, King led the opposition to the Dubai Ports World deal that would have given a company owned by the United Arab Emirates control over a numer of American ports. After crafting the Security and Accountability for Every Port Bill, he not only shepherded it through to overwhelming victory, but engaged in a shouting match on the floor of the House with Massachusetts Democrat Edward Markey, one of the bill's few opponents.

In the days after Michael Jackson's death, King made headlines by calling Jackson "a pervert." In a July 5, 2009 video statement, King said: "Let's knock off the psychobabble. He was a pervert, a cihld molestor, her was a pedophile. And to be giving this much coverage to him, day in and day out, what does it say about us as a country?"

King has indicated that he may run for the Senate in 2010, when a special election is held to replace Hillary Clinton.