Trump pushing Barletta to challenge Casey

May 04--President Donald Trump is encouraging Republican U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta to challenge Pennsylvania's Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Casey in next year's election, a Barletta campaign consultant said Wednesday.

Trump spoke to Barletta about running earlier this week, consultant John Brabender said. Barletta would quickly become the most recognizable name in a field of a half-dozen would-be challengers to Casey, the 56-year-old son of a late ex-governor and a fierce critic of Trump.

"I am being encouraged to run for U.S. Senate and will continue to have conversations with my family to determine my next steps," Barletta, R-11, of Hazleton, said Wednesday.

But it's a tough decision to give up a safe seat in the U.S. House of Representatives where you gain seniority for the prospect of beating an incumbent senator who has won twice fairly handily, G. Terry Madonna, director of the Franklin and Marshall College Poll, said Wednesday night.

Madonna is not convinced Barletta will run. "He'd be taking on a senator who won by 10 percentage points in 2006 and 12 points in 2012."

Barletta, however, would have some advantages in a Republican primary, Madonna said. "He represents one of 18 congressional districts, 600,000 people. He's known because of when he was mayor of Hazleton and his immigration issue. And, he was an early supporter of Trump."

Casey would be a tough opponent, Madonna said, "because he was one of the co-sponsors of a bill that gave health care to miners, his grandfather was a coal miner and Casey relates pretty well to the working class. I'm not praising Casey. Just pointing out obstacles Barletta would have."

Madonna does, however, feel Barletta would be a formidable opponent for Casey. "He is a strong campaigner and would be a much better Republican candidate than Tom Smith, who ran against Casey in 2012."

Beth Kremer, Northumberland County Republican Committee chairwoman, said: "I'd like to see him run. Bob Casey would be tough to beat, but Barletta would be a strong opponent. And in his favor is he is well liked."

Barletta is a solid Trump loyalist, Madonna added. He has supported Trump-backed legislation to overhaul the American health care system and introduced a bill to fund the construction of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border in an effort to help Trump fulfill a key campaign promise.

Barletta, 61, is in his fourth term representing a House district that stretches from southcentral Pennsylvania's rolling farms through northeastern Pennsylvania's anthracite coal fields.

Elected in the Republican mid-term wave of 2010, Barletta had made a name for himself as mayor of Hazleton, where he advanced laws aimed at immigrants in the country illegally.

Barletta is one of a handful of Pennsylvania congressmen who have eyed a challenge to Casey, but leading Republican lawmakers have so far demurred.

Casey plans to seek a third six-year term in next year's election. Democrats' 4-3 ratio registration edge over Republicans gives him a built-in advantage, although that did not stop Trump from becoming the first Republican since 1988 to capture Pennsylvania's crucial electoral votes in the presidential race.

Barletta endorsed Trump in the weeks leading up to Pennsylvania's presidential primary and became a co-chair of Trump's ultimately successful campaign in the state.

Casey, who has been in statewide public office for more than two decades, is popular with labor unions and was a strong supporter of former President Barack Obama's signature initiatives, including his sweeping health care law and post-recession overhaul of financial-sector regulations.

Casey first ran in 2006 as an opponent of abortion rights and stronger gun laws, but he has moderated those positions and more recently has voted in line with his party on the issues.

Unseating Casey could be expensive. Last fall's U.S. Senate election in Pennsylvania, won by Republican Sen. Pat Toomey, smashed U.S. Senate campaign finance records, with spending passing $160 million in the two-year cycle.

Email comments to rdandes@dailyitem.com. Follow Dandes on Twitter @rdandes.

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