Democrat and former broadcast journalist Janelle Stelson launched her second challenge against Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) in Pennsylvania’s 10th congressional district on Monday.
Stelson narrowly lost to Perry by just over one percent in 2024. The highly competitive 10th congressional district has been rated as a toss-up, according to the nonpartisan Cook Political Report.
FBI agents seized Perry’s cell phone in 2022 in connection with investigations into President Trump. A court later issued a ruling shielding much of the communications on the phone between Perry and other lawmakers from special counsel Jack Smith.
Controversies hanging over the 2020 presidential election and the investigation hung over the 2024 race, when Perry won reelection and Trump won Pennsylvania after losing the state in 2020 to former President Biden.
A poll conducted earlier this month by the left-leaning Data for Progress on behalf of the Democratic-aligned House Majority PAC shows Stelson leading Perry 46 percent to 43 percent.
In a statement announcing her campaign, Stelson blasted Perry for voting for President Trump’s legislative agenda.
“Scott Perry has spent more than a decade in DC taking votes that hurt us instead of delivering results – and he just sold us out again by casting the deciding vote for the largest Medicaid cuts in history, all to fund more tax cuts for billionaires,” Stelson said in a statement.
“People around here are sick and tired of career politicians like Scott Perry betraying them at every turn. I’m running to give Central Pennsylvanians the voice they deserve and to fight to lower costs, protect Social Security and Medicare, ensure a woman’s right to choose and secure the border,” she continued.
The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) responded to Stelson’s entrance into the race in a statement on Monday.
“Welcome back to certified loser Janelle Stelson! If there’s one thing we know for sure, it’s that Janelle Stelson, who won’t even bother to live in the district she wants to represent, doesn’t stand a chance against Scott Perry. Pennsylvanians have rejected her before, and they’ll gladly do so again in 2026,” NRCC spokeswoman Maureen O’Toole said.
Stellson is expected to have the support of the Democratic establishment going into the general election.
According to her campaign, Stelson has already secured endorsements from Lt. Gov. Austin Davis (D), state Sen. Patty Kim (D), state Reps. Carol Hill-Evans (D), Dave Madsen (D), and Nate Davidson (D).
