Kanjorski has "serious problem," pollster says

U.S. Rep. Paul Kanjorski is in the political "fight for his life," faced with the twin problems of voter dissatisfaction with incumbents and a surprising electoral focus on issues of immigration, a prominent pollster told PolitickerPA.com.

In a poll released by Franklin & Marshall College this morning, Kanjorski, the Nanticoke City Democrat who has long represented the 11th Congressional District, was trailing Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta by nine points.

G. Terry Madonna, a pollster and political scientist who led the poll, said Kanjorski is most certainly on the ropes it what was already shaping up to be the toughest reelection battle of his career.

"He's clearly got a problem," Madonna said. "He's in the fight for his life. I don't think there's any doubt about that."

Madonna said Kanjorski was suffering heavily among the large number of voters upset with government and upset with the Washington status quo. But more surprising, Madonna said, was that 17 percent of voters said immigration was the most important issue in determining how they cast their ballots, a higher number than usual in the state. Barletta owes his national fame to his harsh stance against illegal immigration.

"That's huge," Madonna said. "The immigration issue is playing out in that Congressional race like no other race in the country."

"If you're Kanjorski, it seems to me that you've got to go make the case that if you're elected, there's things you're going to change," Madonna added.