July 18, 2008 – 1:51 p.m.
As congressional campaigns have heated up, many of the competitive contests have turned to the advantage of the Democrats.
Not so in northeastern Pennsylvania’s 11th District.
CQ Politics is changing the rating of the Pennsylvania 11 race to reflect the likelihood of a competitive race this fall between veteran Democratic Rep.
By changing the rating of the race from “Safe Democrat” to “Leans Democrat,” CQ Politics still rates Kanjorski as the favorite but acknowledges a strong challenge from Barletta, who since January 2000 has been mayor of the district’s third most-populous city.
Kanjorski defeated Barletta in 2002 by the substantial margin of 56 percent to 42 percent. But Republican analysts say that Barletta is a stronger candidate this time around, mainly because of the attention he received inside and outside the district for an ordinance he pursued to punish businesses and landlords that employ or house illegal immigrants.
Barletta announced his candidacy somewhat late — in early February, just before the candidate filing deadline in Pennsylvania. But it appears he’ll have the resources to wage a credible campaign; as of the end of June, he had raised $518,000, or nearly as much as he raised for his entire 2002 campaign against Kanjorski. He had $322,000 left to spend at the end of June.
Kanjorski is going to have a lot more than that at his disposal. He reported having $2.2 million to spend as July began.
For a full version of this story and the latest coverage, please visit CQ Politics.