PA-12: GOP Rep. Tom Marino’s upcoming resignation will lead to a special election in this rural central Pennsylvania seat, and at 66-30 Trump, it’s a very appealing opportunity for many local Republicans. The GOP nomination will be decided at a convention rather than through a primary, and the National Journal takes a look at who could run―including one familiar name we hoped we’d heard the last of.
Former GOP Rep. Lou Barletta left the House to run against Democratic Sen. Bob Casey last year and got trashed 56-43, but he had little troubling winning this area. Barletta hasn’t said anything yet about a comeback, but his former campaign manager says there’s interest in GOP circles in him running here, adding, “I'm sure he's going to get a lot of pressure.” Barletta’s hometown of Hazleton, where he was mayor before he was elected to the House, is in the nearby 9th District, and Barletta only represented about 10 percent of this seat until this January, when his time in the House ended and Pennsylvania's new map took effect.
However, that may not be much of a problem if the party leaders who will be picking the nominee think highly of Barletta after his failed Senate run. Barletta, who got his start demonizing undocumented immigrants in Hazleton and spent his time in Congress giving interviews and speeches to xenophobic groups, was also a Trump favorite, so if the White House weighs in on his behalf, it could go a long way toward getting him back to Congress.
A number of other Republicans are also eyeing this seat. State Reps. Jeff Wheeland, Fred Keller, and John Fritz all say they’re interested, with Wheeland saying Thursday that he’d decide in the next couple of days. Businessman Jeff Stroehmann, who lost an incredibly crowded 2008 primary to now-Rep. Glenn Thompson for what was then the 5th District, also isn’t ruling it out. Former Snyder County Commissioner Malcolm Derk, who lost 2010 primary to Marino, is also not ruling it out, but he doesn’t sound very enthusiastic.
In the rumored to be interested column are state Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman; state Sen. Gene Yaw; Lycoming County Commissioner Tony Mussare; former state Farm Bureau President Keith Eckel; and Marino’s district director, Dave Weber. However, some Republicans are skeptical either Corman or Yaw would want to give up powerful positions in the state Senate majority to go to D.C. and go straight to the minority. GOP operatives also say they expect former Bradford County Commissioner Doug McLinko, who lost 2018 primary to Marino, to run again.
The list is far shorter on the Democratic side. Northumberland County Commissioner Kymberley Best did express interest, saying she was “gathering a bipartisan committee to explore the opportunity to become the12th Congressional District's first congresswoman.”