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Rep. Lou Barletta Wins Pennsylvania GOP Senate Primary

Congressman will face off against Sen. Bob Casey in November

Rep. Lou Barletta, R-Pa., won Tuesday’s GOP Senate primary in Pennsylvania. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call file photo)
Rep. Lou Barletta, R-Pa., won Tuesday’s GOP Senate primary in Pennsylvania. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call file photo)

Rep. Lou Barletta won the Republican Senate primary in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, advancing to a November matchup against Democratic incumbent Bob Casey.

With 65 percent of precincts reporting, Barletta had 61 percent of the vote to 39 percent for state Rep. Jim Christiana, according to The Associated Press. 

Casey is one of 10 Democrats up for re-election in a state that President Donald Trump carried in 2016. But Trump won the Keystone State by less than 1 point, making Casey among the least vulnerable of those Democrats. Barletta’s win, which was expected, sets up a general election clash between a Trump ally against an increasingly vocal Trump critic. 

Barletta was an early Trump supporter, and the president encouraged him to run for Senate. Some of Barletta’s House GOP colleagues, including Rep. Mike Kelly, decided not to challenge Casey. 

Before he was elected to the House in 2010, Barletta was the mayor of Hazleton, a small city in the northeastern Pennsylvania. He is known in Congress for his hard-line immigration stances, particularly his work to prevent so-called sanctuary cities — or jurisdictions that do not cooperate with federal immigration laws — from receiving federal funds. 

Casey was first elected to the Senate in 2006. He was re-elected in 2012 by 9 points. Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales rates the Pennsylvania Senate race Likely Democratic

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