Karen Shuey: 2 Berks commissioners endorse Barletta for governor

May 16—Two Berks County leaders announced they are throwing their support behind Lou Barletta to win the Republican nomination for the hotly contested Pennsylvania gubernatorial race.

Commissioners Christian Leinbach and Michael Rivera released a joint statement Sunday outlining why they believe the former congressman is deserving of the nomination what they believe he can bring to the position.

"I know Lou Barletta," Leinbach said in the statement. "He listens to people, and he listens to county leaders. He understands that governance is about leadership and that leadership is about knowing and understanding the people, the counties and the commonwealth you are to lead."

"Lou Barletta jumps out as a great candidate for governor because he's served at the local level, as mayor of Hazleton, and served in Congress — plus he's run a successful small business," Rivera added.

The announcement from the commissioners comes as a slew of Republican Party officials in Pennsylvania are rallying behind Barletta in the Tuesday primary in the hope that he can overcome frontrunner state Sen. Doug Mastriano, whom they fear is too extreme to win in the general election.

Mastriano, having secured an endorsement from former President Donald Trump over the weekend, increased his lead in possibly the last poll to emerge before the polls open. The final Emerson College poll of very likely Republican voters in Pennsylvania found Mastriano leads Barletta by nearly 13 percentage points.

Leinbach and Rivera stressed Republicans need a commonsense conservative candidate and said they think Barletta is the only person in the race they believe can win the primary and defeat Attorney General Josh Shapiro in the general election.