Lou Barletta Advances to 'On the Radar'
Lou Barletta Advances to ‘On the Radar’
Pennsylvania Candidate Takes Important Step Toward ‘Young Gun’ Status
Washington- The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) has officially announced Hazleton, Pennsylvania Mayor Lou Barletta as an ‘On the Radar’ candidate, an important step of its Young Guns program. Founded in the 2007-2008 election cycle by Reps. Eric Cantor (R-VA), Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), and Paul Ryan (R-WI), the Young Guns program is a member-driven organization dedicated to electing open-seat and challenger candidates nationwide. Barletta is running for Pennsylvania’s 11th Congressional District.
The Young Guns program is designed to assist Republican candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives achieve goals and benchmarks throughout the election cycle focused on the fundamentals of a winning campaign. By achieving ‘On the Radar’ status, Barletta has already proven his ability to build a successful campaign structure and achieve important fundraising goals.
“The NRCC is committed to working with Lou Barletta as he continues to meet the rigorous goals of the Young Guns program,” said NRCC Chairman Pete Sessions. “Lou Barletta is an accomplished leader for Northeastern Pennsylvania, and he already has significant momentum behind his campaign. I am confident that he will be successful in his effort to defeat Paul Kanjorski, who is a career politician focused on Wall Street bailouts, not job creation.”
Lou Barletta has a proven track record of serving Pennsylvanians’ best interests as mayor of Hazleton. Serving as mayor since 1998, Barletta inherited a massive budget shortfall and was able to revitalize the city of Hazleton economically with tough but prudent financial decisions that earned statewide praise. Barletta is well-known as a hard-line conservative on immigration issues and introduced the Illegal Immigration Relief Act, which allows the city to deny a business permit to employers who hire and fine landlords who lease to illegal immigrants. Appointed by the White House to serve as a member of the United Nation Advisory Committee of Local Authorities representing the United States of America in 2004, Barletta has served his country with distinction.
The signs of the changing political environment that Democrats will have to face next year have helped Barletta build momentum and have made this race even more competitive. While already achieving certain benchmarks to place him on the road to victory, Lou Barletta now faces a new set of rigorous benchmarks that will help him advance to the next level of the Young Guns program and help him build a competitive, effective and winning campaign.
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