Rep. Lou Barletta will win the Republican Senate primary in Pennsylvania and will take on Democratic Sen. Bob Casey in November, CNN projects. The race is one of 10 Democratic-held Senate seats on the ballot this fall in states President Donald Trump won in 2016.
Barletta was an early backer of Trump — and Trump has backed Barletta, recording a robocall for him days ahead of the primary against state Rep. Jim Christiana.
Trump in February tweeted: “Rep. Lou Barletta, a Great Republican from Pennsylvania who was one of my very earliest supporters, will make a FANTASTIC Senator. He is strong & smart, loves Pennsylvania & loves our Country! Voted for Tax Cuts, unlike Bob Casey, who listened to Tax Hikers Pelosi and Schumer!”
Barletta, who was elected in the Tea Party wave of 2010, has taken a hard line on immigration in the Senate. Republicans sought a more moderate candidate for the race but were unable to persuade other prospects to run.
Barletta has lagged in the fundraising race, collecting nearly $1.3 million in 2018’s first quarter and ending with $1.6 million on hand, compared to Casey’s nearly $10 million on hand.
Democrats eye key House races
Democrats’ path to a possible House majority starts with several seats in the Philadelphia suburbs, and the party will pick its candidates there in Tuesday’s primary.
The Pennsylvania US House primaries — the first elections on a new court-imposed congressional map — are the main event on a day that includes primary elections in Idaho, Nebraska and Oregon.
Perhaps the highest-stakes battle is the Democratic primary for the Lehigh Valley House seat being vacated by retiring Republican Rep. Charlie Dent.
Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli is the best-known candidate. He’s backed by a group with ties to the centrist “No Labels” group, but is a target of progressives over his stances on abortion, illegal immigration and a series of now-deleted tweets that included praise for President Donald Trump.
EMILY’s List has backed Susan Wild, a former Allentown solicitor, in the primary, while independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and the Congressional Black Caucus have endorsed pastor Greg Edwards.
Another Democratic primary to watch is the new 1st District, represented by Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick — who faces his own challenge from lawyer Dean Malik.
Rachel Reddick, an Emily’s List-endorsed 33-year-old former Navy prosecutor, fits the profile of a Conor Lamb, who just won a hotly contested House special election near Pittsburgh. But Scott Wallace is a multimillionaire who has spent $2.5 million of his own money on the race.
Democrats will also pick a candidate in the 5th District, an area vacated by former GOP Rep. Patrick Meehan, where the Democrats are all but certain to make one of the 23 pickups they will need to take control of the House.
A familiar name — Rick Saccone, the former state lawmaker who lost to Lamb in March — is on the ballot in Pennsylvania’s 14th District. He’s running against Guy Reschenthaler for the GOP nomination in the deep-red western Pennsylvania district.
To the west, Democrats are watching a House primary in Nebraska, where former Rep. Brad Ashford — a conservative “Blue Dog” who lost to Republican Rep. Don Bacon in 2016 — must hold off progressive Kara Eastman before he gets a rematch with Bacon.
In Idaho, Rep. Raul Labrador — an influential member of the House Freedom Caucus — is one of three front-runners in a crowded gubernatorial primary.
And in Oregon, Republicans are choosing their candidate to take on Democratic Gov. Kate Brown in the fall.
