Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Contact 90.5 WESA with a story idea or news tip: news@wesa.fm

Ex-Drug Prosecutor And Cop Seeks Barletta's Seat In Congress

Susan Walsh
/
AP

A former drug prosecutor who once ran for state attorney general is entering the field vying to succeed Republican U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta in 2019.

Joe Peters announced Monday that he'll seek the Republican Party's nomination to run for Pennsylvania's 11th District seat in Congress. The district stretches from Shippensburg in southcentral Pennsylvania some 140 miles to rural northeastern Pennsylvania. The primary election is May 15.

Peters got his start in law enforcement as a police officer in Scranton, where his father was a two-term mayor. He later became chief of the state attorney general's organized crime and narcotics division and served in the White House's anti-drug office.

Peters ran for state attorney general in 2016 and state auditor general in 2004.

Barletta is running for U.S. Senate and won't seek a fifth U.S. House term.

The Associated Press is one of the largest and most trusted sources of independent newsgathering, supplying a steady stream of news to its members, international subscribers and commercial customers. AP is neither privately owned nor government-funded; instead, it's a not-for-profit news cooperative owned by its American newspaper and broadcast members.