A Democratic Seat In Danger? Spotlight on PA's 11th

Disclaimer: I am working as an independent contractor with Lou Barletta's campaign, whose campaign I am about to discuss, to provide a website and our Mission Control software suite.  I am in no way directly affiliated with Lou's campaign.  This piece does not reflect the opinions of the campaign or anyone affiliated with the campaign.

2008 presents a year that is increasingly worrisome for Republicans, and for all of the right reasons -- generic Congressional polling shows Democrats with a clear advantage, the incumbent Republican President's approval ratings continue to reach new lows, the economy is being billed by many as in a recession, gas prices have reached record highs, and Republicans in Congress have become associated with pork spending and corruption.  As a result of these and other woes, Republicans recently lost two normally safe Republican seats in the House.  Many out there believe that Republicans will lose a significant number of additional seats in the House and Senate come November.

Following the above logic, a great deal of the political news that we hear these days focuses on traditionally "safe" Republican seats that are competitive or even leaning Democrat this cycle. However, I have been working closely with a House race in Pennsylvania that, although still looking at an incredibly challenging campaign, seems poised to upset a Democratic incumbent this November. The race is Lou Barletta's race in Pennsylvania's 11th district.

Lou Barletta, currently serving as Mayor of the town of Hazleton, is a proven leader and has defied the odds in the past, being elected in a town with a significant Democratic registration advantage by a two-to-one margin.  Lou became the focus of the national media in 2006, when he and his city council passed the Illegal Immigration Relief Act, which fined and punished those who rented to or employed illegal immigrants, along with another act that declared English the official language of Hazleton.  As mayor of Hazleton, Lou has represented fiscal conservatism at its finest, erasing Hazleton's budget shortfall and renegotiating illegal contracts with the city's union.  As a result, he earned the Governor's Award for Fiscal Accountability and Best Management Practices for his town.

Lou's opponent, Democrat Paul Kanjorski, has been the incumbent in PA's 11th since 1985.  He is opposed to the Iraq war and has voted in favor of withdrawing all of the troops from Iraq.  He has a lifetime rating of 21.51 from the American Conservative Union.  In 2002, Kanjorski faced investigation by the FBI for improperly using his influence to funnel millions of dollars in federal funds into companies owned by his family; today, he is under similar scrutiny, as he is once again accused of doing the same.

Kanjorski recently committed another serious blunder -- he was recorded admitting that Democrats "stretched the facts" in 2006 so that they could win the majority in Congress.  His full statement read (my emphasis has been added):

"I'll tell you my impression. We really in this last election — when I say we, the Democrats — I think pushed it as far as we can to the end of the fleet, didn't say it, but we implied it. That if we won the congressional elections, we could stop the [Iraq] war. Now anybody was a good student of government would know that wasn't true. But you know, the temptation to want to win back the Congress, we sort of stretched the facts and people ate it up."

The video has since made its way onto YouTube and has garnered some significant national attention.  One individual questioned Kanjorski about his comments on film, to which Kanjorski aggressively denied that he made the above statement and told the questioner, "I don't apologize to anyone."

As I'm sure you have been able to see, Kanjorski's campaign is in many ways imploding.  On the other hand, Lou's campaign is under the veteran management of Vince Galko, whose experience includes managing Senator Rick Santorum's 2006 re-election effort, serving as Regional Policy Director for Rudy Giuliani's Presidential campaign, and working as Deputy Executive Director of President George W. Bush’s Pennsylvania re-election campaign.  Lou's position on illegal immigration carries a wide appeal to voters in the district, both Democratic and Republican, as well as to a national audience.

Despite all of this, the race remains an uphill battle, and Kanjorski's incumbent status continues to give him a fundraising advantage.  Republicans are presented with an astounding opportunity to win a seat from the Democrats this cycle and to have a representative who will fight for conservative Republican values in Washington.  Therefore, I encourage you to support Lou's race in any way that you can.

Aaron Marks is a founding partner of Three Group, LLC, a Pittsburgh-based new media firm that focuses on providing technology-based solutions for Republican candidates and organizations, and in particular has built Web 2.0 campaign management software called Mission Control.  Aaron also worked in new media and voter outreach on Senator Rick Santorum's 2006 re-election campaign.