The third match-up between familiar foes will determine who represents the coal country of northeast Pennsylvania and may well go a long way to determining which party has a House majority.
Pennsylvania's 11th district contains parts of several counties that were once home to the booming American coal industry. Today, these counties are struggling to revamp the local economies decades after the demand for coal bottomed out. The 11th is home to Scranton, famous among younger generations as the home of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company on NBC's The Office. The 11th also includes the former coal towns of Wilkes-Barre, Centralia, and Hazleton. To the east on the New Jersey border, Monroe County has become a popular destination for New Yorkers and New Jerseyians fleeing those two high tax states.
Pennsylvania's coal country has a long Democratic heritage, although most Democrats here veer to the right on social issues. Blue-collar Scranton and Monroe County, with its northeast suburban feel, are the most Democratic parts of the district. Wilkes-Barre and the rest of the coal counties are trending Republican due to their antipathy for national Democrats stances on issues like gun control and abortion. Barack Obama carried the 11th by the surprisingly strong margin of 57%-42%.
The 11th has been represented by Democrat Paul Kanjorski for 26 years. Kanjorski has become a powerful force on Capitol Hill and he is currently the number two Democrat on both the Financial Services Committee and the Oversight & Government Reform Committee. Kanjorski began his House career with a liberal voting record, but he now votes much nearer the center of the House. In the 111th Congress, Kanjorski supported most of the Obama agenda including the health care reform bill and the cap-and-trade legislation. Kanjorski is an unapologetic earmarker and takes credit for bringing federal dollars into the 11th district.
In 2008, Kanjorski had the closest race of his congressional career. He was challenged by Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta, who hammered him for his championing of the economic stimulus package from his powerful perch on the Financial Services Committee. Barletta also made sure voters were aware of Kanjorski's role in siphoning federal dollars to a now-defunct technology company run by Kanjorski's family. In a good year for Democrats in Pennsylvania, Kanjorski barely survived 52%-48%.
This year, Barletta, who also unsuccessfully challenged Kanjorski in 2002, is back for a third shot at the veteran lawmaker. With the northeast Pennsylvania economy still lagging and only Democrats to blame this election cycle, Barletta may have his best chance to finally defeat Kanjorski. Barletta, who rose to national prominence when Hazleton enacted strikingly tough measures to combat illegal immigration in 2006, is an engaging candidate with experience representing a city that has long had more Democratic voters than Republican voters.
Kanjorski has built a 2-to-1 cash advantage over Barletta. Kanjorski, however, will have to deal with an unfavorable political environment against a well-known candidate. The uphill battle facing Kanjorski was obvious in a AAF/Ayers poll released in early August that showed Barletta leading Kanjorski 52%-41%. In 2008, Kanjorski trailed in the polls but still managed to survive, whether he can do so again remains to be seen.
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