Bartos announces run for U.S. Senate seat

William O'Boyle, The Times Leader, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
·2 min read

Mar. 9—WILKES-BARRE — In announcing for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate, Jeff Bartos said he pledges to be a fighter for all Pennsylvanians and will do "what it takes" to help keep the nation moving forward.

Bartos, 48 of Montgomery County, is a small business owner and co-founder of the Pennsylvania 30 Day Fund.

Bartos was the Republican Party's nominee for lieutenant governor in 2018.

"During the Trump Administration, millions of Pennsylvanians who had felt abandoned and forgotten had someone fighting for them in Washington and delivering real results for their communities," Bartos said in the news release announcing his candidacy. "We cannot afford to return to a time when working families and small businesses, which are the lifeblood of our communities, had their priorities and well-being ignored by their elected officials. Pennsylvanians deserve to have someone fighting for them — and that's why I'm running for U.S. Senate."

Bartos declared his candidacy on Twitter, using an expletive to say he'd get things done.

Born and raised in Berks County, Bartos has been a Pennsylvania resident his entire life. Bartos is a small business owner and real estate developer active in the Greater Philadelphia market.

In addition to his private-sector career, Bartos co-founded and led an effort to raise and distribute more than $3.3 million to struggling small businesses in Pennsylvania through the Pennsylvania 30 Day Fund.

"What we've seen over the last year is that government continues to step in, time and again, in a way that favors the big companies at the expense of the little companies," Bartos said. "Who are we as a society if all that's left at the end of this pandemic are giant companies?"

Bartos said over the last 10 months, he has been talking with small business owners throughout the commonwealth.

"They've shared with me their belief that Main Street Pennsylvania has been left behind by the very people who are supposed to be representing them," he said. "If we've learned anything over the past 10 months, it's that career politicians love to talk, but rarely roll up their sleeves and get to work to fix problems. Frankly, Pennsylvania is suffering because of it. I'm running to change that."

Bartos and his wife, Sheryl, have two daughters, Emily and Sarah.

To learn more about Bartos and his campaign for U.S. Senate, visit www.JeffBartos.com.

The Senate seat will open after two-term Republican U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Lehigh Valley, announced in October that he would not run again.

The race for the Democratic nomination has Lt. Gov. John Fetterman and state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta of Philadelphia, already declared, with others expected to announce soon.

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