Improved Kanjorski Outlasts Mayor Barletta
Update - 12:01pm

As Hazelton Mayor Lou Barletta began to make a crackdown on illegal immigration a big political issue in the congressional district of Rep. Paul Kanjorski, the incumbent Congressman began to radically change his approach to immigration. His much-improved immigration behavior may have been an important factor in his keeping his seat after a strong challenge by Barletta.

Until four years ago, Kanjorski had been one of the worst Members of Congress in supporting foreign workers (illegal and legal) over American workers, when it came to immigration policies. He was earning a D or a D-minus from NumbersUSA in most years. Mayor Barletta in the meantime was becoming one of the nation's greatest champions for Attrition Through Enforcement against illegal immigration. If Republican Barletta had won on a night when all the political winds were blowing Democratic, it would have been one of the biggest upsets of the night. Kanjorski has dominated this Democratic-leaning District for 11 terms, winning his last election with 73% of the vote. But this time with Barletta, the margin was 52% to 48%.

With Barletta on his tail during the last four years, Kanjorski had become one of the toughest Democrats on importing foreign workers (illegal and legal) and has been earning B's from NumbersUSA. He was one of only 10 Democrats who signed the Discharge Petition to try to force Democratic Speaker Pelosi to bring the SAVE Act to the floor for a vote

source: NumbersUSA homepage 11/04/08