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Our view: County leaders, law enforcement shined during courthouse evacuation

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Nanticoke police apprehend alleged parole fugitive

<p>HAZLETON &#8212; Two giants of Northeastern Pennsylvania politics will be vying for one of the state&#8217;s U.S. Senate seats this fall in one of the nation&#8217;s most closely-watched races.</p><p>Four-time U.S. Rep. and former Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta cruised to a sizeable victory Tuesday in his bid for the Republican nomination, setting up a November contest against U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, a Scranton Democrat first elected to the seat in 2006.</p><p>Unofficial statewide returns with 95 pecent of districts reporting showed that Barletta captured 405,306 votes, while competitor Jim Christiana, 34, of Beaver County garnered only 239,820.</p><p>Casey, 58, who was running unopposed for his party&#8217;s nomination, captured 697,867 votes according to the unofficial tally &#8212; more votes than Barletta and Christiana combined.</p><p>Barletta, 62, who rocketed to national prominence thanks to his battles against crime and illegal immigrants while mayor, also was an early and enthusiastic supporter of Donald Trump&#8217;s bid for the White House, and has enjoyed President Trump&#8217;s support.</p><p>But Barletta faces a formidable foe in Casey, son of the late Gov. Robert P. Casey and himself a former state treasurer and auditor general.</p><p>In the months leading up to Tuesday&#8217;s primary contest, Barletta clearly was fighting harder against Casey than against Christiana.</p><p>That battle broke out into the open during Barletta&#8217;s victory rally Tuesday night at The Pines Restaurant in downtown Hazleton, and it is likely to be a battle in which both claim to be the true champions of blue collar voters and working families.</p><p>Barletta accused Casey of moving too &#8220;far left,&#8221; and not being in line with the will of Pennsylvanians who support Trump&#8217;s agenda.</p><p>&#8220;I think it&#8217;s wrong to go against what the people here have voted for,&#8221; Barletta said, noting he is seeking support from Democrats and Independents who had voted for Trump.</p><p>Describing himself as a blue collar Congressman and former mayor, Barletta said it&#8217;s time to &#8220;send those blue collar values to the Senate.&#8221;</p><p>Casey campaign manager M.E. Smith released a statement on Barletta&#8217;s nomination saying the race will be a contest &#8220;between a candidate who fights for working families and a candidate who fights for the corporate interests that stack the deck against them.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;It will be a choice between a candidate who has made it his mission to protect Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid and a candidate who has spent years working to undermine, privatize, or slash those programs,&#8221; Smith wrote.</p><p>Casey has a huge cash advantage, the Associated Press noted, with about $10 million in the bank at the end of April, compared with Barletta&#8217;s $1.3 million.</p><p>But, the Associated Press also pointed out, Casey is among 10 Democratic senators seeking re-election this year in states won by Trump, making him a prime target for Republicans.</p><p>During his victory speech, Barletta focused heavily on his support for the president, saying the media had wrongly predicted Trump would not win the state.</p><p>Barletta reminded the audience that he was one of the first to rally behind Trump&#8217;s presidential campaign, ignoring skeptics who said he was &#8220;crazy.&#8221;</p><p>Trump is worthy of support, he said, citing declining unemployment, a rising stock market, North Korea &#8220;coming to the table,&#8221; growing consumer confidence and &#8220;the fact that ISIS is practically gone.&#8221;</p><p>The president, a prolific user of Twitter, was silent on social media Tuesday night.</p><p>Vice President Mike Pence did take to the social media platform to praise Barletta&#8217;s win, however, tweeting: &#8220;CONGRATS to my friend @LouForSenate in his big Pennsylvania primary victory tonight. He&#8217;s the kind of leader we need in the Senate to enact the America First agenda!&#8221;</p><p>Casey spokesman Smith took aim at Barletta&#8217;s ties to the Trump administration.</p><p>&#8220;It will be a choice between a candidate who stands up to President Trump when he&#8217;s wrong and a candidate who believes President Trump can do no wrong,&#8221; Smith said.</p><p>Barletta did have kind words for his fellow Republican Christiana, saying the two had exchanged well wishes, and that his opponent offered to help him in the general election campaign.</p><p>&#8220;He&#8217;s a young man with a bright future,&#8221; Barletta said of Christiana.</p><style>
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<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/web1_TTL022018Casey1CMYK-3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Casey </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/web1_TTL022018Casey1CMYK-3.jpg</photo0><caption0>Casey </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/web1_Jim-Christiana-for-SenateCMYK-3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Christiana </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/web1_Jim-Christiana-for-SenateCMYK-3.jpg</photo1><caption1>Christiana </caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/web1_Lou-Barletta3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Congressman Lou Barletta, R-Hazleton, waves to a crowd of supporters at The Pines Spirits &amp; Eatery in Hazleton after winning the primary election. 5/15/18. Sean McKeag</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/web1_Lou-Barletta3.jpg</photo2><caption2>Congressman Lou Barletta, R-Hazleton, waves to a crowd of supporters at The Pines Spirits &amp; Eatery in Hazleton after winning the primary election. 5/15/18. Sean McKeag</caption2><photoCredit2></photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Bill O&#8217;Boyle</p><p>and Jennifer Learn-Andes</p><p>boboyle@www.timesleader.com </p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Bill O&#8217;Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Barletta scores GOP victory, primed to battle Casey for Senate