WILKES BARRE, Penn.-The radio ad opens with Mariachi music in the background, while the narrator bashes Congressman Paul Kanjorski on his stance on immigration; a product of a national anti-immigration group, called Team America.
The $34,200 radio buy was not paid for or coordinated by Kanjorski's Republican opponent Lou Barletta, a staunch opponent of illegal immigration, but is one of many ads flooding Pennsylvania's 11th District by groups either for or against Kanjorski, the long-time congressional champion for credit unions. Federal Election Commission records show the Republican Congressional Campaign Committee has also spent $1 million to promote Barletta.
$1.2M Spent On Independent Ads
Kanjorski has been the beneficiary of more than $1.2 million in independent ads paid for by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, as well as $1.3 million in ads paid for by the National Association of Realtors, one of the financial groups with business before the House Financial Services subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance and Government Sponsored Enterprises, which Kanjorski chairs.
Independent observers say as much as $10 million may be spent on behalf of the two candidates this election, making it one of the most hotly contested in the House.
Kanjorski has established himself as the most reliable credit union supporter in Congress, first by writing HR 1151, the CU Membership Access Act, then more recently, the CU Regulatory Improvements Act, or CURIA. So credit unions have also come to his aid with more than $100,000 in campaign contributions.
Kanjorski should be cruising to victory in this year when Democrats are expected to turn out in record numbers in the Keystone state. But Barletta, the mayor of the city of Hazelton, has become a national spokesman for tighter immigration controls, after the city passed an ordinance barring illegal immigrants from renting or working in the city. He has appeared on TV's "60 Minutes" and Lou Dobbs' "MoneyLine" and received hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign support from groups across the country who support tougher laws against illegal immigrants.
The two candidates participated in their only debate just days before the election on WVIA TV in Scranton. Tomorrow, Barletta is expected to attract national attention when a federal court in Philadelphia hears oral arguments in defense of the city's illegal immigrant ordinance. A lower court last summer struck it down as unconstitutional.
The Democratic surge in Pennsylvania, where Barack Obama has a double-digit lead over Republican John McCain, should help Kanjorski, according to Terry Madonna, a pollster at Franklin & Marshall College who has been following the race. "He's just not very popular in the district," said Madonna, referring to a two-week-old poll showing only one-in-three voters want Kanjorski to serve a 13th term in Congress.
Madonna downplayed the immigration issue in the race, saying his polling indicated in recent weeks immigration has receded as an issue, while the economy has grown in importance. Hazelton, according to Madonna, is the only area where immigration is a major issue. It is not a major issue in the cities of Wilkes Barre or Scranton.
The first poll of the race taken last month showed Barletta ahead by 9%, and the second poll two weeks ago showed the gap had narrowed to 5%. Madonna said his data indicates the narrowing was caused by the surge of the Democrats in recent weeks. "But guess what," said Madonna, "he doesn't close it, Barack Obama closes it," referring to the widening of the Democrat's advantage in the presidential race.
