He's hoping the third time's the charm:
Republican Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta will announce today that he will mount a third run for Congress next year, two party sources familiar with his plans said.
An e-mail from his campaign said he will announce his decision at 10 a.m. through an Internet webcast on his campaign Web site, www.loubarletta.com.
The loudly anti-immigration Barletta lost by a substantial margin to Rep. Paul Kanjorski in 2002 when Barletta wasn't widely-known. He came within 52-48 in 2008, after most polls showed Barletta winning. Obama (and local fave Joe Biden) coattails, and a truckload of DCCC dollars, helped Kanjorski get over the top.
This time, however, Barletta faces some primary opposition: attorney Chris Paige, who's taking issue with Barletta's stridently anti-immigrant stance (although it's not exactly clear whether he's doing so as a business moderate or a hardcore libertarian). Barletta also starts with one other disadvantage: he's still saddled with $250K in campaign debt from last time, but he says that money raised now will go to his 2010 race, not paying down old debt.
There are two possibilities here: Barletta could do even better next year, as it's a non-presidential year and his particular brand of conservatism (right-wing populism, rather than theocratic) is playing especially well right now. Or, he could stagnate at the same level of performance, as he may be showing some staleness and third tries usually don't go so well. Actually, there are third and fourth possibilities: the 72-year-old Kanjo could say "screw this" and retire, or he could lose his own primary bid to 30-something Lackawanna County Commissioner Corey O'Brien. In either case, the fresh-legged O'Brien might actually fare better against Barletta than the rusty and baggage-toting Kanjorski, benefiting from the D+4 district's natural Democratic lean.
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