Pennsylvania: Now Allyson Schwartz is in Trouble

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Dee Adcock has spent the better part of the past few months playing the part of his cycle’s humble Republican challenger to Democrat incumbent Allyson Schwartz in Pennsylvania’s 13th district. The district, north of Philadelphia in Montgomery County, has been solid blue for a decade, and the Cook Partisan Voting Index has the territory as D +7.

Adcock’s campaign, rightly or wrongly, has not attracted the kind of enthusiasm that similar challenges by the likes of Mike Kelly in PA-3, Pat Meehan in PA-7, or Lou Barletta in PA-11 have received. But as of last week, that could be changing. Adcock’s campaign released a poll conducted in early September that suggests the race could not just be competitive, but may actually be a dead heat.

National Review

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Pennsylvania: Barletta, Kanjorski Rematch?

Lou Barletta. Image via Wikipedia

The leading contender for the Republican nomination is Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta, who entered the race Dec. 9 to pursue a rematch of the 2008 race that Kanjorski won by just 3 percentage points. The incumbent ran well behind Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama , who won by 15 points in the typically Democratic-leaning northeastern Pennsylvania district that includes Scranton and Wilkes-Barre.

Congressional Quarterly

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Pennsylvania: Barletta Leads Kanjorski by 5

Barletta leads among males, (44% to 31%), among whites, (40% to 35%), among veterans, (52% to 29%), and voters with incomes over $75,000, (49% to 26%). Kanjorski has the edge among voters with incomes less than $35,000, (47% to 29%), among Catholics, (43% to 34%), among non-whites, (46% to 23%), and among union households, (42% to 32%). Female voters divide about evenly.
Pocono Record

Paul Kanjorski: Time to Say Goodbye

The Pocono Record has endorsed challenger Lou Barletta against the stale incumbent.

Pennsylvania: Afraid of Lou Barletta, Dems Funnel Money to Kanjorski

This year, though, Barletta is back, and he's one of Republicans' best potential candidates. As mayor of a small town of 23,000, Barletta won national attention for his drive to make the city as unwelcoming as possible for illegal immigrants, including making renting an apartment to the undocumented a crime and making English the town's official language. He became something of a national celebrity, appearing on Fox News and CNN shows, and his announcement of candidacy drew television cameras from local affiliates and national networks in New York.

Kanjorski beat Barletta handily once, but newfound celebrity has made the Democrat nervous. A poll for Barletta's campaign showed the mayor leading the congressman by a 47 percent to 42 percent margin in late March, and though Democrats insist the race is still Kanjorski's to lose, national Republicans can hardly contain their giddiness at the prospect of knocking off an incumbent who has held the seat since 1984.

—Politicker.com