Lou Barletta

If U.S. Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D-Nanticoke) caught flak from constituents for his support of a $700-billion bailout bill that failed to pass the House Monday, he didn't show it today.

Kanjorski, considered by many to be the most vulnerable Democrat in Congress, again supported a bailout package, this time voting for amended legislation approved by the Senate.

Kanjorski is facing a tough challenge from Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta in the 11th Congressional District. After Kanjorski's initial vote for the bill Monday, his campaign spokesman said the longtime incumbent had "stood up for the principle" and did not "take into account political considerations."

Of the three Democratic incumbents in Pennsylvania's Congressional delegation widely considered to be vulnerable in November, U.S. Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D-Nanticoke) was the only one who voted in favor of Monday's failed bailout bill.

On Tuesday, his campaign spokesman acknowledged that he "can't predict how this matter will play out" politically, but he defended the Kanjorski's vote as one of prinicple over politics.

"The Congressman stood up for the principle and did the right thing for the country," spokesman Ed Mitchell told PolitickerPA.com in an e-mail. "Some people may see that as a mistake today, but he didn't take into account political considerations. In a few days or a couple of weeks, he may be proven right."

He also sought to refocus the campaign issue on what he called the shifting positions of Kanjorski's opponent, Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta.

"You just can't trust Barletta," Mitchell said.

Though he won't be suspending his reelection campaign, U.S. Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D-Nanticoke) says he'll stay in Washington as long as it takes to address the financial crisis.

"I have already stated that Congress must stay in Washington until we address this current economic crisis and draft legislation," Kanjorski told PolitickerPA.com in a statement. "I also chose to stay in Washington last weekend, instead of going back to Northeastern Pennsylvania because this crisis must be addressed immediately."

Kanjorski is facing a strong challenge from Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta in the 11th Congressional District. 

WASHINGTON – Two months after announcing its advertising plans for more than 50 districts across the country, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is making public its plans for defending an additional two incumbents in hotly contested races in Pennsylvania.

The DCCC tells PolitickerPA.com it will spend a total of $2.2 million combined this year to defend U.S. Reps. Chris Carney and Paul Kanjorski. Carney, a freshman, is facing a battle against Republican Chris Hackett, a staffing company executive. Kanjorski, a 12 term incumbent, is running against Republican Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta.

The committee has begun airing advertisements in both districts. To date, the DCCC has aired $220,000 worth of advertisements on behalf of Kanjorski and $37,000 in support of Carney. The DCCC went on the air with its first ad in support of Carney over the weekend.

Republicans have been pounding politically vulnerable U.S. Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D-Nanticoke) over the fundraising help he's received from embattled U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY).

But Kanjorski has given no indication that he's bowing to pressure to distance himself from Rangel. At a fundraiser for Kanjorski in Washington next week, Rangel will be the main attraction.

"Charlie Rangel is a distinguished member of Congress who has done much for this country," Kanjorski campaign spokesman Ed Mitchell told The New York Times. "We're happy to be associated with him.”

U.S. Rep. Paul KanjorskiDemocrats today dismissed a new poll showing U.S. Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D-Nanticoke City) in a perilous position as Election Day nears, saying their own internal polling showed the longtime incumbent still leading Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta.

The poll release this morning by Franklin & Marshall College showed Kanjorski trailing Barletta by nine points in the 11th Congressional District,one of the most competitive races in the country.

"We dispute the Franklin & Marshall poll's validity," Kanjorski campaign spokesman Ed Mitchell told PolitickerPA.com. He specifically took issue with the large number of senior voters polled.

"We expect to win, and that's because Congressman Kanjorski stands up for the middle class," Mitchell said.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee released its own poll of the race this morning, claiming that Kanjorski holds a nine-point lead, not Barletta. But the DCCC provided almost no polling data to reporters.

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."

Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta has opened up a significant lead in his bid to unseat U.S. Rep. Paul Kanjorski, according to a new poll.

The poll, released this morning, showed Barletta, a Republican, leading Kanjorski, the longtime Democratic incumbent, by nine points among registered voters in the 11th Congressional District. In the survey of 547 registered voters, conducted by Franklin & Marshall College, 44 percent supported Barletta, while 35 percent backed Kanjorski.

Kanjorski is already considered one of the most vulnerable Congressional Democrats in the country, and is certainly in the most perilous situation of any Pennsylvania incumbent. The race is ranked the fifth-most competitive in the country by PolitickerPA.com's Pindell Report.

The poll, which had a margin of error of 4.2 percent, is sure to increase Democratic concerns about Kanjorski, and is likely to intensify effots by both national parties to influence the race.

In the poll, 21 percent of voters were undecided. Perhaps most concerning for Kanjorski was that only 51 percent of Democrats indicated they would vote for him. Fewer than two in five voters told pollsters Kanjorski deserves reelection.

A Franklin & Marshall/Times-Shamrock Newspapers poll of 539 registered voters, shows Republican challenger Lou Barletta leads Congressman Paul Kanjorski 44% to 35% with 21% undecided.

The margin of error of the poll was 4.2 percentage points.  The poll was conducted between Sept. 9 and 14.  It included 317 Democrats, 185 Republicans and 37 independents/others.

The poll also shows only 35 percent of those polled believe Paul Kanjorski deserves re-election compared to 54 percent who say it's time for a change

Republicans nationally and in Pennsylvania tout the energy vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin has injected in the GOP base.

On Tuesday, it caused state party Chairman Bob Gleason to make a bold prediction: Republicans will win back "four or five" congressional seats in the Keystone State.

Generic ballots between Republicans and Democrats show a dead heat, Gleason said, "and that's caused Democrats to be very nervous about their congressional seats."

The chairman, joined by congressional candidate Craig Williams for the state's 7th Congressional District, spoke to reporters on a conference call hours before Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Biden campaigned in the Philadelphia suburbs.