Barletta challenges Kanjorski to debates

Congressional candidate Lou BarlettaEscalating a campaign battle that has grown increasingly confrontational, Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta this morning challenged his incumbent opponent, U.S. Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D-Nanticoke City), to join him in 11 debates between now and Election Day in November.

The challenge was issued in a letter sent to Kanjorski. Barletta, who along with state GOP officials has been hammering Kanjorski on everything from energy to foreign policy issues, wrote that it was time to "stop the rhetoric and attacks."

"Let's come together now and start debating the issues," Barletta wrote. "I hope you will see fit to respond to my challenge."

In his letter, Barletta proposed holding six debates on a local radio station over the summer, to be followed by five more public debates in the fall, one for each county that makes up Kanjorski's 11th Congressional District.

In a statement responding to the challenge, Kanjorski's campaign voiced a commitment to debate the Republican mayor, but also expressed some skepticism about the nature of his challenge.

"The congressman said back in the winter on [a local TV station] that he looked forward to debating Mr. Barletta on the issues. He stands by that," campaign spokesman Ed Mitchell said.

"You must understand though, Mr. Barletta would like all these debates because his candidacy is not getting traction," he added. "He's not raising money to get his message out, so he's got to rely on these types of free venues like debates and newspaper stories. People are just not flocking to support Mr. Barletta, especially with their donations. That being said, there will be debates. We're receiving invitations from many quarters and we are considering them as they come in."

Barletta, who gained national notoriety by pushing tough local ordinances against illegal immigrants, failed to unseat Kanjorski in 2002. This time around, statements from the campaign trail have grown increasingly heated. Although an internal Barletta poll showed him in a good position to unseat Kanjorski, analysts and pollsters have said it remains an uphill battle for the conservative mayor, who is struggling to build support beyond Hazleton and national conservatives who admire his aggressive stance on immigration.

"I still think that's going to be a tough seat for the Republicans to win," G. Terry Madonna, a pollster and political scientist at Lancaster's Franklin & Marshall College, told PolitickerPA.com last month.