Barletta joins Young Guns

Hazleton, Pa., Mayor Lou Barletta (R), who recently announced his third run at Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D-Pa.), has joined the NRCC's Young Guns program for challengers.

Barletta will begin at the first step of the program, "on the radar."

"The NRCC is committed to working with Lou Barletta as he continues to meet the rigorous goals of the Young Guns program,” NRCC Chairman Pete Sessions (Texas) said. “Lou Barletta is an accomplished leader for Northeastern Pennsylvania, and he already has significant momentum behind his campaign. I am confident that he will be successful in his effort to defeat Paul Kanjorski, who is a career politician focused on Wall Street bailouts, not job creation.”

Barletta is the second candidate in the last week to provide some movement in the ranks of Young Guns. Farmer and gospel singer Stephen Fincher, who is running for retiring Rep. John Tanner's (D-Tenn.) seat, moved last week from "on the radar" to the second of three steps, "contender."