HAZLETON - Flanked by his family and framed by the blue and red "Lou" posters that populate this town every other autumn, U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta celebrated a decisive re-election victory Tuesday night over Gene Stilp, the Democratic activist who totes an inflatable swine named Pignelope in a decades-long crusade for government reform.
"Well, ladies and gentlemen, pigs are not going to fly tonight," Mr. Barletta, a Republican, joked as he spoke to about 150 supporters at Mea's Restaurant, a few blocks from the City Hall where he served as mayor for 11 years.
Mr. Barletta led Mr. Stilp 163,733 votes to 116,315 votes, or 59 percent to 41 percent, with 98.82 percent of the state's tally counted. Mr. Barletta outperformed in all nine counties the reconfigured district touches, including Mr. Stilp's adopted home county of Dauphin.
Mr. Barletta led in Columbia, Carbon, Cumberland and Perry counties by close to a 2-to-1 margin and dominated Mr. Stilp in Luzerne County, where they both have ties, by a 13 percent margin. Mr. Barletta wielded the power of incumbency, earned two years ago in his third attempt to replace 13-term Democrat Paul Kanjorski.
Mr. Barletta, in his address, lamented the departure of communities like Scranton, Wilkes-Barre and Jim Thorpe from the district but said he welcomed the addition of new constituents in Dauphin and Cumberland counties and other points south - areas where he performed well on Tuesday night despite voters' lack of familiarity.
The problems there, Mr. Barletta said, of unemployment and a poor economic climate for small business and family farms, are the same as in the portions of the district that have remained intact after the decennial redistricting process completed last year.
In his next term, Mr. Barletta said, he would work to repeal the health care overhaul pushed by President Barack Obama and reverse defense budget cuts that would kick in at year's end if Congress does not reach a compromise on federal spending. He said he would continue to push for the elimination of regulations that he said are stifling small businesses and would work toward passage of his bill to ensure lower interest rates on Small Business Administration loans granted in the wake of natural disasters like the record flooding along the Susquehanna River in September 2011.
"They're the problems facing all Americans. They're the problems I want to fix in Washington," Mr. Barletta said. "They're why you're sending me back to Washington, and they're what I am going to tackle over the next two years."
Mr. Barletta praised Mr. Stilp for a hard-fought race and wished him luck.
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11th Congressional District
ââLou Barletta (R) 163,733
Gene Stilp (D) 116,315