I know there have been rumors but nothing substantiated. This is great news! Let’s help this guy get elected!


http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-bar ... 8560.story

2:03 PM EST, January 30, 2008

Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta plans to run for Congress this year, parlaying his fight against illegal immigrants into a race against one of the state's most entrenched Democrats, according to state Republican Committee Chairman Rob Gleason Jr.

Barletta will announce his candidacy for the GOP nomination in the 11th district seat in "a few days," Gleason said in an interview today. The seat is held by Democrat Paul Kanjorski.

"He is putting his team together," Gleason said. "I'm counting on him to win it."



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July 14, 2006: Illegals On Notice

Barletta didn't immediately return a call. His decision to run is a recruiting coup for state and national Republicans, who have been pressing Barletta to run for the seat for most of the last year. He recently won a third term as mayor of Hazleton in a landslide.

A run against Kanjorski, should Barletta win the GOP nomination, is likely to prove to be much more difficult. The 12-term Democrat is the second-longest serving House member from Pennsylvania and has never won reelection by fewer than 13 percentage points. That margin came during a win over Barletta in 2002.

But Republicans argue that the mayor is a far different candidate than he was six years ago. He gained a national following after introducing an ordinance to crack down on illegal immigrants in Hazleton in 2006 (the law was later struck down by a federal judge). And Gleason contends that he's learned a lot from his 2002 loss.

"This is a different day," he said.

A spokeswoman for Kanjorski didn't immediately return a call for comment.
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