Louis John Barletta (born January 28, 1956) is an American businessman and politician who served as the U.S. representative for Pennsylvania's 11th congressional district from 2011 to 2019.

During his tenure, he challenged longtime Democratic incumbent Paul Kanjorski of the 11th congressional district three times, eventually defeating him in 2010.

In 2018, Barletta was the unsuccessful Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate, losing to Democratic incumbent Bob Casey Jr. by a 13-point margin in the general election.

[1][2] Rocco Barletta helped manage several of the family's businesses, including Angela Park, which operated in nearby Drums until it closed in 1988, and served on the executive committee of the Democratic Party of Hazleton.

He graduated with a major in elementary education and made an unsuccessful tryout for the Cincinnati Reds baseball team, having been cut after failing to hit a curveball.

[10] In 1999, the incumbent Democratic mayor, Michael Marsicano, was beleaguered by the city's growing deficit, topping off at $855,000,[11] and was primaried in an upset by Jack Mundie.

[12] Barletta would defeat Mundie in the general election, overcoming a Democratic voter registration edge in the city (estimated at 5,771 to 3,509 in 2007).

[13] Barletta was reelected in 2003, defeating Democrat Jack Craig and Socialist Tim Mailhot, who campaigned on opposition to the Iraq War.

[23] The widespread publicity saw support for Barletta emerge from Republican politicians such as former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani,[24] and conservative figures such as Tucker Carlson and Neil Cavuto.

[25][26] In response to the law, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund sued in federal district court to block the ordinance.

[23] In July 2007, Judge James Martin Munley ruled that the act was unconstitutional, claiming it interfered with federal immigration laws and violated the due process of individuals, employers, and landlords.

[32] Barletta lost, taking 42 percent of the vote, losing the district's share of Lackawanna County, home to Scranton, by 32 points.

[56] In 2016, Barletta joined 18 Republicans in co-sponsoring legislation that would block Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients from enlisting in the military.

[50] Committee assignments[61] Caucus memberships[62] On July 31, 2017, the Associated Press reported that Barletta was preparing to run for the U.S. Senate, seeking the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic incumbent Bob Casey Jr. for his seat in the 2018 midterm elections.

[68] Barletta's campaign had been consistently outraised throughout the election, which he attributed to his loss, alongside Casey's recognizable name advantage.

[69][70] Barletta declined to return to Congress following his U.S. Senate bid, instead focusing on his newly formed consulting firm, Pioneer Strategies.

[73][74] Barletta participated in the 2020-2021 Trump fake electors plot, in which Pennsylvania's role involved twenty Republicans who met in Harrisburg and pretended to cast votes for President Donald Trump as though they were Pennsylvania's lawful delegates to the 2020 Electoral College, even though the lawful delegates voted for President-elect Joe Biden.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro declined to prosecute the fake electors because of the clause, but nonetheless stated that "their rhetoric and policy were intentionally misleading and purposefully damaging to our democracy.

"[77][78][79] Following an announcement that Senator Pat Toomey would not be seeking reelection in 2022, Barletta declined to launch a second bid in pursuit of replacing him, however he did express interest in succeeding term-limited Governor Tom Wolf in 2022.

[82] He cited Wolf's lockdowns enacted in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and concern over expanded mail-in ballots as his reasons for running.

[83] On the campaign trail, Barletta touted his political record as both Mayor of Hazleton and a U.S. Representative, labeling himself as being a predictable potential governor.

[89] According to Vox in 2018, Barletta is "considered to be generally more moderate than other House Republicans, though he almost always toes the party line on major votes.

[90] Barletta voted for Micah's law,[67] which prohibits abortion of fetuses starting with the twentieth week of pregnancy, when advocates of government regulation of abortion care contend that fetuses can be born prematurely with medical assistance and feel pain,[91] with exceptions for victims of rape and incest who have undergone counseling and for cases of danger to the life of the mother.

[67] In supporting the legislation, Barletta tweeted, "Our #TaxReform package doubles standard deduction, brings $$$ back home, and reduces rates for ALL taxpayers.

[96] After meeting with President Donald Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan, Barletta said that they had promised to bring up separate legislation to prohibit undocumented immigrants from accessing health insurance tax credits.