As I wrote about this earlier today, Donald Trump is trying to get Pennsylvania’s most racist, anti-immigration xenophobic Congressman to take U.S. Senator Bob Casey, Jr. (D. PA) next year:
Rep. Lou Barletta is considering challenging Sen. Bob Casey in the Senate race on the encouragement of President Donald Trump.
In a report from the Associated Press, Barletta campaign consultant John Brabender said Wednesday that Trump this week spoke to the Republican congressman from Pennsylvania about running in next year's midterm election.
Barletta, who represents the 4th congressional district, was an early supporter of Trump during the campaign and became a surrogate. Trump at one point considered the 61-year-old Hazleton Republican for a cabinet post.
Casey, a second-term Democrat who is seeking re-election, faces about a half-dozen would-be challengers. Barletta, who has made a name for himself as an immigration hardliner, would become the most recognizable name in that field.
And Trump’s not the only awful human being to back this terrible man:
Former Senator Rick Santorum has voiced his support for a run by Barletta in a tweet last night.
State Representatives Rick Saccone (R-Allegheny) and Jim Christiana (R-Beaver), real estate developer Jeff Bartos, and RNC Delegate Andrew Schektor have all announced bids for Senate. Southeast businessman Paul Addis is considering a run for the Senate as well.
Santorum backing Barletta isn’t surprising since Barletta backed Santorum’s 2016 failed presidential bid. However, I’m not sure it’s a great sign to get the backing from the very man Casey crushed by a whopping 18 points back in 2006. One thing is for sure is the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee had long been anticipating that Barletta might make the jump. He was a target of the DSCC over his support for Trumpcare:
Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Butler) has been rumored as a possible 2018 opponent to Sen. Bob Casey. Rep. Lou Barletta (R-Luzerne) has not.
But the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is not waiting for them to decide. The committee is running google search ads targeting both Congressmen over their support of the American Health Care Act (AHCA).
The ads will appear in the Google search results when people in Pennsylvania look up either Congressman or their records on healthcare during the two week Congressional recess.
“The GOP’s Plan jeopardizes coverage for pre-existing conditions and makes working people pay more for less — and when Congressmen Barletta and Kelly face the voters there will be nowhere they can hide from their support for this reckless agenda,” DSCC spokesman David Bergstein said in a statement.
Either way, we need to be ready for whoever end up being Casey’s opponent. Click here to donate and get involved with Casey’s campaign.