Rep. Lou Barletta (R-PA) won his primary to face Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) on Tuesday — but his margin of victory wasn’t exactly awe-inspiring.
Barletta, a close Trump ally whom the President backed with robocalls in the closing days of the race, led underfunded Pennsylvania state Rep. Jim Christiana (R) by 59 percent to 41 percent when the Associated Press called the Tuesday night.
That’s not exactly a huge margin for Barletta, a longtime congressman who had the explicit endorsement of the President — and who spent nearly $2 million on the race to just $250,000 for Christiana.
Republicans have already privately worried that the divisive Barletta, like Trump an immigration hardliner, could hurt the rest of the GOP ticket in a state where more than a half-dozen House seats are up for grabs this cycle, most of them Democratic pickup opportunities. These results are unlikely to calm their nerves.
