DSCC Statement on Pennsylvania Senate Primary Results

Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee spokesman David Bergstein issued the following statement on the results of tonight’s Pennsylvania Republican Senate primary:

“Over the last 10 months, as Congressman Barletta has limped through the primary, he’s been forced to explain away his connections to white supremacists and Holocaust deniers as Republicans have trashed his campaign in the press. Despite spending nearly $2 million against minimal opposition, Congressman Barletta has failed to unite Pennsylvania Republicans and remains largely unknown statewide. But Congressman Barletta’s problems are just beginning.

“Throughout his time in Congress, Lou Barletta has championed the policies that stack the deck against working families. He’s worked to undermine Medicare and Social Security, voted to send out-of-pocket health care costs skyrocketing, and backed a tax plan that rewards companies for shipping jobs overseas. His blind support for Donald Trump keeps him from standing up for the Pennsylvanians hurt by this administration’s disastrous policies. The Keystone State deserves better than a lapdog.”

What To Know About Congressman Lou Barletta:

• Headline: Pennsylvania Republicans vent frustration with Lou Barletta’s Senate campaign. [Washington Examiner,1/26/18]
  • “Republican officials in Pennsylvania are fretting that Rep. Lou Barletta’s anemic fundraising and strategic misfires are jeopardizing” his chances. [Washington Examiner, 1/26/18]
  • Pennsylvania Republicans worry that Barletta won’t be able to raise the funds to challenge Senator Casey.[Philadelphia Inquirer, 8/15/17]
  • Headline: Barletta’s hard line on immigration, weak fund-raising are undermining Senate bid, analysts say.[PennLive, 2/9/18] 

• CNN: Barletta did interview in 2006 with Holocaust-denying publication. [CNN, 1/25/18] 
  • Barletta’s primary opponent claimed there’s a “library full of” allegations against Barletta. [Beaver County Times, 1/25/18] 

• After a meeting with Trump, Barletta voted for the Republican Healthcare Plan that spikes costs, strips coverage for pre-existing conditions and imposes an age tax on older Americans. [The Hill,3/22/17]
• Barletta has repeatedly supported policies that would harm older Americans, including: supporting the Ryan budget which would end Medicare as we know it and supported privatizing Social Security. [Times Tribune, 4/7/11; Allentown Morning Call, 11/3/02] 

• Barletta voted for the 2017 GOP tax bill, that provides giveaways to big corporations and the wealthiest few at the expense of the middle class. [New York Times, 12/19/17]
  • PolitiFact rated Barletta’s statements “overstating [the] benefits” of the tax bill as “mostly false.” [PolitiFact, 12/6/17]

• Barletta faced an ethics complaint for “violating House rules and potentially federal law” by discussing his U.S. Senate campaign in his district office. [Morning Call, 8/2/17]
• Barletta refused to hold town hall meetings because “he doesn’t find them productive,” and he was afraid of being confronted by voters. [Pennlive, 4/13/17]

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