Scranton Dem endorses Barletta

Republican Lou Barletta has gotten some cross-party support for his congressional bid—albeit from someone who used to be in the GOP himself.

Scranton City Councilman Pat Rogan endorsed Barletta’s campaign against Congressman Paul Kanjorski (D-11) Thursday, calling the Hazleton mayor “the best person to represent the people of Scranton.” Rogan ran unsuccessful council campaigns as a Republican before being elected as a Democrat last year, and is now the chamber’s vice president.

“This isn’t the…

September 2, 2010 at 7:13 am | Comments (3)

Kanjorski’s first ad hits Barletta as ‘failed mayor’

Congressman Paul Kanjorski (D-11) has taken his reelection bid to local TV screens in northeast Pennsylvania, using his campaign’s first 30-second spot to pointedly attack Republican challenger Lou Barletta’s legacy as mayor of Hazleton.

Kanjorski’s started airing the ad late last week, and his campaign said media buys of both cable and broadcast would continue through Election Day. Reflecting the bitter rivalry between the two candidates and the reality that Kanjorski faces a daunting anti-incumbent,…

August 30, 2010 at 1:49 pm | Comments (5)

LEFTOVERS: Corbett hits back, CQ on Kanjo cash, endorsements & jobs in the 6th

The nonstop tax attacks from Democrat Dan Onorato must finally be getting under gubernatorial rival Tom Corbett’s skin, because his campaign, which ordinarily doesn’t seem so concerned with winning the daily news cycle, is starting to throw a couple punches back here or there.

After Onorato spent a second consecutive day hitting Corbett on the subject of taxes, Corbett’s campaign e-mailed reporters a list Wednesday of all…

August 25, 2010 at 9:12 pm | Comments (0)

GOP pollsters see challengers leading in four Pa. races

Republican pollsters looking at four competitive House districts in Pennsylvania say the GOP challengers in those races are holding leads over Democratic incumbents—and sometimes big leads that come in spite of low name recognition for the Republicans.

Whit Ayres’ polling firm conducted the surveys on behalf of American Action Forum—part of the conservative group American Action Network led by former Senator Norm Coleman, among others. The results were first reported by…

August 17, 2010 at 8:15 am | Comments (7)

LEFTOVERS: Vets in the 10th, JoePa in the 11th, Tea Party (again) on the 7th

It was a day for veterans to speak out in the 10th Congressional District Tuesday.

First, incumbent Democrat Chris Carney rolled out his military-guy-supporters to speak out against Republican opponent Tom Marino. You might remember that Carney was peeved that Marino attacked him for not signing on to an anti-abortion bill while he was tending to his cancer-stricken wife, and then twisting the knife while Carney was on active duty and…

August 10, 2010 at 11:55 pm | Comments (4)

Barletta camp says he started it all on immigration

A day after a judge struck down key components of Arizona’s controversial immigration law, Republican Lou Barletta was claiming credit for sparking a “national movement” of local and state governments taking immigration enforcement into their own hands.

In a new campaign Web video, the 11th District congressional hopeful hearkened back to the tough immigration ordinance he enacted as mayor of Hazleton in 2006. A federal judge later struck down that law.

July 29, 2010 at 7:10 pm | Comments (5)

LEFTOVERS: Rendell on Obama, Gerlach gives to NRCC, vulnerable seats

President Obama is about to go on “The View”—but Gov. Ed Rendell thinks that’s not such a good idea because the president should only do “serious shows.”

“I think the president should be accessible, should answer questions that aren’t pre-screened, but I think there should be a little bit of dignity to the presidency,” Rendell said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”

We’re assuming Rendell’s rule doesn’t apply to governors, considering that the former Philadelphia mayor is…

July 27, 2010 at 3:44 pm | Comments (7)

DCCC ad buys include four Pa. incumbents

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s first major slate of ad buys for November will help boost four Pennsylvania incumbents.

Politico reports that the DCCC is set to deploy the significant cash advantage it enjoys over it’s GOP counterpart by snatching up TV time in 40 districts across the country. Among the Democrats first in line for help from Washington are 3rd District Congresswoman Kathy Dahlkemper, along with Chris Carney in the…

July 23, 2010 at 12:45 pm | Comments (10)

Kanjorski tries to make the race all about Hazleton

With his opponent doing everything he can to make the race a referendum on incumbency and Washington, Congressman Paul Kanjorski (D-11) is trying to turn the focus local, taking some hard swipes at Republican Lou Barletta’s stewardship of Hazleton.

The local focus, in campaign e-mail missives to reporters framing Barletta as a failed mayor, mirror efforts by Democratic incumbents across the country to localize races that Republicans prefer to play on national issues. Whether Kanjorski’s…

July 21, 2010 at 10:21 am | Comments (23)

Barletta gets $85K from Giuliani appearance

Add another $85,000 to Republican Lou Barletta’s campaign coffers.

The Times Leader, quoting a campaign spokesman, reports that the 11th District congressional candidate netted in excess of that amount from a Monday fundraiser headlined by former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

Barletta bested incumbent Congressman Paul Kanjorski’s second-quarter fundraising haul, but still faces a financial disadvantage in the race, his third attempt at unseating the Democrat in eight years.

The race…

July 21, 2010 at 7:30 am | Comments (2)