Former Rep. Lou Barletta announced Monday he is running to become the next governor of Pennsylvania, vowing to “take back” the Keystone State from politicians “hell-bent on changing who we are and how we live.”
Mr. Barletta, one of the first members of Congress to endorse former President Trump in the 2016 election, criticized Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf and “Harrisburg insiders” over their “disastrous response” to the coronavirus pandemic.
“Wolf squeezed our small business owners and put hard-working Pennsylvanians on the unemployment line,” Mr. Barletta said in his announcement video. “These politicians kept our kids out of school for far too long, and who knows the long-term damage of that. And I’m just going to be blunt about this one, because it’s how we talk here in Pennsylvania: Tom Wolf has blood on his hands for sentencing our seniors to die in nursing homes.”
He added: “It didn’t have to be this way.”
Mr. Wolf is term-limited and cannot seek a third term.
Mr. Barletta served in the House of Representatives for four terms before unsuccessfully running for the U.S. Senate in 2018.
He previously served as the mayor of Hazleton from 2000 to 2010.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.