Fresh off his primary win, Lou Barletta is bending over backward to alienate, bore, or confound every Republican in Pennsylvania. Check out some of the press coverage Barletta’s winning strategy has received in his first week as Republican candidate for U.S. Senate.
Washington Examiner: Pennsylvania Republicans hit the panic button over Senate nominee Lou Barletta
Al Weaver & David M. Drucker | May 17, 2018
- “Senior Republicans are sounding the alarm about Rep. Lou Barletta’s, R-Pa., struggling Senate campaign in Pennsylvania, fretting that his lackadaisical, disorganized effort will hand a third term to incumbent Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa.”
- “The congressman is taking fire from Republicans at home and in Washingtonwho worried that he is relying too much on the president to boost his flagging Senate bid.”
- “Barletta has been a disappointing fundraiser and been too slow to ramp up a capable statewide campaign operation, his critics charge.”
- “’The sense is, nobody knows what the fuck he’s doing,’ a Republican strategist with Pennsylvania ties said, requesting anonymity in order to speak candidly. ‘He’s not really working it hard…Lou is just like a ghost.’”
- “Red flags about Barletta were raised anew after he won the party’s Senate nomination on Tuesday with 63 percent of the vote despite being Trump’s handpicked candidate and enjoying the support of Pennsylvania’s GOP machine.”
- “Barletta has been hampered by lackluster fundraising…The first quarter figure placed him fourth among the Republicans running in competitive Senate contests, but was not enough to calm Republican nerves. Casey has $10 million and counting to burn in an expensive race that probably requires a minimum $20 million to be competitive, and Republicans worry Barletta won’t keep pace.”
- Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, a Barletta supporter, said, “’There are six or seven other races that are much more attractive from a fundraising point of view than slogging it out in a state like Pennsylvania…People tend to like to win states like Montana or North Dakota, which are a lot less expensive than Pennsylvania. I get it.He’s going to have a hard time — he’s got to continue to show that his race is a viable race.’”
- “According to a second Pennsylvania-based GOP operative, Barletta has had trouble connecting with donors…The operative described a fundraising event…where he had issues keeping the attention of the 20-deep donor crowd…’Of the 20 people, 15 of them fell asleep…He’s just not a good speaker.’”
- “The operative also said that Barletta’s campaign has been disorganized and that selling the right story in the right areas of the state has been a constant issue…’The problem is the campaign seems disorganized, disjointed. I don’t think they have a game plan.’”
IJR: Some Pennsylvania Republicans Really Don’t Like Trump’s Preferred Senate Candidate
By Josh Billinson | May 17, 2018
- GOP operatives in Pennsylvania “are afraid Barletta could squander their chances at winning in the state.”
- “Barletta will still need to step up his fundraising efforts if he wants to beat Casey, who currently has Barletta beat in cash on hand by nearly a factor of ten.”
Published: May 17, 2018