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Barletta Announces 2022 Bid for Governor

Nearly one month after launching a political action committee and several months of speculation about a statewide run, this Luzerne County Republican and Trump-ally has formally announced his entrance into Pennsylvania’s 2022 gubernatorial race. 

On Monday, former Congressman Lou Barletta (R-Luzerne) launched his candidacy for the Republican Party nomination for Pennsylvania’s 2022 race for Governor. 

In a 3:44 long announcement video on Twitter, Barletta promoted his roots in the state and career in elected office, while specifically citing his opposition to Gov. Tom Wolf’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic as a reason for entering the 2022 statewide contest. 

“The Pennsylvania that we all grew up with, the one we all knew just a few years ago, it’s slipping away from us,” Barletta said. “Our way of life changed dramatically during the pandemic.”

“But here in Pennsylvania, it was made so much worse by politicians,” Barletta continued. “These politicians, and I’m talking about Gov. Wolf and the Harrisburg insiders, they had a disastrous response to the pandemic.” 

“That’s why I’m running for Governor,” Barletta said later in the announcement video. “We need to take back our commonwealth.”

The issues page of Barletta’s campaign website lays out his positions the economy, natural resources, illegal immigration, election security, infrastructure, supporting the 2nd Amendment, being pro-life, and more. 

Barletta, who served in Congress for 8 years in the old 11th District, is the “most prominent figure” to launch a bid for Governor thus far, according to the AP

This will be Barletta’s second run for statewide office in Pennsylvania. 

In 2018, he launched an unsuccessful campaign for U.S. Senate, losing to Sen. Bob Casey by 13 points.  

Barletta, who was an early supporter of Donald Trump during the 2016 campaign, remains one of Trump’s most outspoken allies in Pennsylvania. 

Barletta told the AP that he would “love” Trump’s endorsement in this race and that he’s “going to try to earn it.” Trump has not issued an endorsement in either the Governor or U.S. Senate race in 2022. 

The Pennsylvania Democratic Party already took a shot at Barletta after he announced his entrance into the race, saying the GOP gubernatorial hopeful’s “extreme agenda and loyalty to Trump hurt Pennsylvanians,” while he served in Congress and that the state “can’t afford that in Harrisburg.” 

While Barletta is the most prominent figure to enter the GOP race for Governor thus far, he isn’t the only candidate to formally announce a bid for the statewide office. Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Gale launched a campaign for Governor in February

Congressman Dan Meuser (R-Luzerne), state Sens. Dan Laughlin (R-Erie) and Doug Mastriano (R-Adams), former U.S. Attorney Bill McSwain, are also reportedly weighing a run for Governor.

20 Responses

  1. If you can’t beat Bob Casey, how can you beat Josh Shapiro? But if Big Lou gets the nod from Trump, he is a winner and nothing Meuser, McSwain, or any of the others can do about it. But if they all go along with the Biden stole the election line, they are all doomed in November. So it is really a difficult pickle for GOP.

    1. when corruption is documented and Josh’s defense of fraud is exposed, he will no longer be perceivable as invincible despite tons of $$$; he’s an honest-injun, per personal observation during past decade-plus, but his reflex support for Dem-policies is highly problematic

  2. The Barletta legacy in Hazleton? Promise a park and 20,000 plus seat major amphitheater as Mayor and during his state race. Reality get toxic waste, buried drums, and “forever chemicals”. View open science framework and search for “Hazleton Creek Properties”. No park and No amphitheater. What you have?

    1. Out of state wastes with high metals due to poor statistics and sampling procedures by the trainload. Lead and other toxic metals in unlined mine pits higher than cleanup levels of many Superfund sites.

    2. An area defined as the Crystal Ridge Landfill where shallow burial of about 8,000 hazardous waste drums, berylliium and other toxic wastes buried with no assessment as noted by former landfill manager.

    3. Marcellus drilling wastes with potential higher TNORM radioactivity.

    4. PFAS (forever chemicals) from various out of state and in state waste materials in the unlined pits.

    5. No park or amphitheater, but possible warehouses built on this mess.

    1. Barletta is a weak candidate. Lacks the drive, management skills and funding abilities. Never served this nation in uniform but wants to oversee the PA national guard? That’s a beaut. What exactly is Barletta’s major legislative accomplishment outside of practically bankrupting Hazleton? He gets by on his smile but lacks substance. Put this one in the loss column for the GOP. They’ll never learn.

      1. these two ad-hominem attacks lack hyperlinked documentation; have followed Lou for a decade-plus and have long-ago concluded he’s a deep thinker/doer

        Lou’s early concern with Illegals illustrates what Drew Pearson invoked in 1968 as the ideal method for choosing to support a politician, in that case, for HHH over RMN because of HHH’s support for civil rights during 1948 DNC speech

        the Trumpsters in the GOP are gaining potency, and either candidate would benefit therefrom; I’ll go along with whomever The Donald prefers, particularly because Doug showed he’s also “the real thing” @ the Chambersburg rally this past Saturday

  3. I would like to share a few thoughts for those who eschew profanity and wish to ponder quality alternatives.

    The differential diagnosis includes Joe Gale (who continues to have “0” accomplishments), Congressman Dan Meuser (whom I don’t know), state Sen. Dan Laughlin (whom I don’t know), state Sen. Doug Mastriano (with whom I chatted on Saturday and who was an early critic of PA’s fraudulent election), and former U.S. Attorney Bill McSwain (who distinguished himself in contrast with idiot-Dems in SE-PA).

    I have adored Lou ever since I heard him debate 3:1 @ Temple Law on the Illegals, years ago; he’s a quality individual and, thus, when I heard he might run … I sent $100.

    I rapidly grew to respect Doug, who maintains eye-contact and who was endorsed by Rudy; if this is a prelude to The Donald’s decision, then he’ll supplant Lou (who would probably accede to Trump’s wishes) and I suspect the converse would occur if Lou were dubbed (recalling that he was recruited to run against Casey).

    The next time Doug travels from Chambersburg to the Delaware Valley, I’ll try to see him; in the process, I’ll match the donation … $100.

    I’m not a mover/shaker, but honesty/forthrightness merits reinforcement; basically, open to whomever Mar-a-Lago supports.

    I might add that Rudy was sensational, and that he didn’t sweat; he remains heroic in everything he says/does, a quality that is palpable in both the lecture setting and when he interacts with Steven K. Bannon on America’s Voice.

    1. I will consider voting for any Republican that disavows traitor Trump. Unfortunately, Lou Barletta and Doug Mastriano are in too deep with traitor Trump. Hell, Mastriano was on site January 6th and was on Capitol Hill. Anyone who promotes Trumps big election lie is unfit to serve in elective at any level. The smooth transition of power is the only thing that keeps us above a banana republic and the spoiled idiot traitor Trump was willing to ruin it all for his own selfish ego.

        1. Lou Barletta was one of the early members of Congress to board the Trump Treason Train. Trump urged and endorsed Lou Barletta to run against Bob Casey.

          Doug Mastriano rode the Trump nonsense into a political career. Furthermore, Mastriano was involved in arranging buses to transport traitors to the Trump insurrection on January 6th. Mastriano was present in DC on January 6th and was photographed on Capitol Hill during the time of the insurrection and attack on the US Capitol building.

          Barletta and Mastriano are both under the spell of traitor Trump and have disqualified themselves from consideration for any elective office at any level.

          1. both are high-quality
            all this ad-hominem attacking with hyperlinks is best ignored
            pivotal is their lack of corruption

  4. Barletta is overrated. He can’t raise money and he’s lazy. He’s not that smart. He ran a terrible Senate campaign. Republicans pinning hopes on him are on a sinking ship. Any Republican with a brain knows Barletta can’t win. Also, he’s old school—women are to be seen not heard. It’s not 1950.

  5. No doubt LOU will be after the endorsement of the big prevaricator, Trump. That will seal his fate once again as a LOSER.

  6. Lou Barletta is a slimeball. His teeth are no more real than the asshole who keeps stealing my name to post bullshit statements.

  7. Lou for the win! 2022 will be a Republican wave year. He won on his THIRD try for Congress in 2010 (also a R wave year). He will win again! Shapiro barely held on against a nobody in 2020 also. He is weak!

  8. Oh sweet Lou, you disqualified yourself from ever being qualified to run for public office once you pledged loyalty to the traitor Trump.

    Yes Tom Wolf went too far with his COVID shutdown, but that was trying to save lives. Meanwhile, traitor Trump put the wealth of the 1% ahead of the health and safety of American citizens and then tried to steal an election he clearly lost and oversaw an attempted insurrection on Jan 6th 2021. All who threw in with traitor Trump are traitors themselves, and if I remember Lou, you were one of the first onboard the Trump train to Treasonville.

    No soup for you Lou!

      1. I’m still waiting for you to grow a pair and be a man standing on his own, instead of a liar who masquerades under other’s posting name.

        1. Only fucking morons would vote for Dems. Blame the stupidass voters, not the GOP.

    1. Huckleberry. You muth loving, mask wearing commie conspiracy theorist Really no one cares what you and your police hating / military dishonoring party thinks. Crawl into your basement with your daddy sleepy eye Joe.

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