PENNSYLVANIA, USA — Editor's note: The above video is from 2017.
Republican Lou Barletta has told the Associated Press that he plans to run for governor of Pennsylvania.
Barletta is the former mayor of Hazelton and a four-term member of Congress, and ran statewide in a 2018 loss to Democratic U.S. Senator Bob Casey.
The 65-year-old Barletta becomes the first prominent figure to enter the 2022 governor’s race.
He told the AP that if elected, his goals will be to boost the state economy while also "overhauling" the Commonwealth's election law and fighting illegal immigration.
Barletta also has a strong relationship with former president Donald Trump, having served as his campaign co-chairman in Pennsylvania in 2016. During Trump's one term as president, Barletta became one of Trump’s biggest allies on Capitol Hill.