Majority Savers begins the Sleeper Races Week by heading to the Harrisburg area in central Pennsylvania. The incumbent, Rep. Scott Perry, was one of the lead insurrectionists on 1/6. He has had his phone confiscated by the FBI. The district did go for TFG twice, but not by a huge margin. It would be a huge upset, but Shamaine Daniels is our candidate for Pennsylvania’s 10th district!
If you want to find my previous entries in this series, I recommend following me or searching for #MajoritySavers as a tag! Majority Savers is also a group now, thanks to 2thanks!
Shamaine Daniels for Pennsylvania-10!
Donate | Volunteer | Campaign | FaceBook | Twitter
Candidate Background
There isn’t a lot of info about Shamaine Daniels out there, even on her campaign website. This section will likely be very short for all of the candidates this week.
- Her family migrated to the United States when she was 13 years old. She went to college and eventually law school and became an attorney fighting for civil rights and worker’s rights.
- She was elected to the Harrisburg City Council in 2013, and has held that position ever since. Her goals on the city council include helping small businesses, affordable housing, and youth programs.
Signature Issues
It is hard to say what kind of politician Shamaine Daniels would be if she makes it to Washington, DC. Her district would suggest being a moderate is the right way to go, but her issues page (such as it is) sounds more progressive leaning.
Defending Democracy: With Rep. Scott Perry being an insurrectionist, of course this would be the main issue — though surprisingly she doesn’t list it on her site. She would boot out someone who tried to rally fake electors in Pennsylvania, as well as likely be a vote for the John Lewis VRA Act.
Education: Good schools are what allowed Daniels to make it in America, and she wants to return the favor by fully funding a K-12 education instead of cutting it like so many GQP members wish to do. She would also work to get college costs under control.
Health Care: Daniels supports a public option for the ACA, because in many areas of the country the ACA does not offer competitive plans or has few options. She would also expand Medicare access to those over the age of 50, which are often the most expensive to insure.
Elections History
Recent Elections —
2020 President: TFG (R-inc) 51.3%, Joe Biden (D) 47.2%
2020 House: Scott Perry (R-inc) 53.3%, Eugene DePasquale (D) 46.7%
2022 PVI: R+5
2022 Race Rating: Safe Republican
This district has been in existence for two election cycles now, as the gerrymandered maps the Pennsylvania legislature used to boost the GQP were deemed unconstitutional before the 2018 election cycle. With a Democratic governor and a GQP legislature, the maps were drawn once again by the courts, with this district largely staying intact.
In 2018, the blue wave almost caught Rep. Scott Perry in the undertow. He only won 51-49 against George Scott in a sign that this district was a swing seat. This attracted the attention of State Auditor Eugene DePasquale, who was amongst the strongest candidates we could recruit for this seat. Unfortunately, in spite of the Presidential results above, Perry won again 53-47.
This district is a tough nut to crack, and Shamaine Daniels has some positives (Perry participation in 1/6) and negatives (she isn’t raising enough money) going for her. This is a sleeper race, meaning it is almost certain that Rep. Scott Perry will win — but I put it on the board because he is under investigation by the FBI. Having the phone confiscated could lead to events that break the race open.
Political Tour of the District
This district is heading our way slowly, as Harrisburg and York both lean to the left. The problem is that there are plenty of rural areas that are strongly Republican, leading to an inelastic district that is just out of reach.
Here’s where this race will be won in the 10th district.
- Harrisburg: This area is reliably blue, and only getting more so with time. This is the base of Shamaine Daniels, and she will have to put in an exceptional performance here to offset other areas of the district more hostile to win.
- York: While the county is hopelessly red, the city itself is a blue oasis in a red county. Again, Daniels will have to beat expectations in this area to have a chance of pulling the upset. There isn’t a lot of Democratic strength beyond these two cities in the district.
Here’s where we need to keep the margins down, or we lose.
- Cumberland County: This County will decide the fate of Daniels. Biden got the county down to a 44-54 margin against him, and Daniels has to match that or do even better to have a chance of winning this district.
- Rural Areas: Once you get outside Harrisburg and York, the rest of the parts of their counties are hopelessly red. That is common with rural areas almost everywhere. Daniels is best off trying to limit the damage these areas can cause her campaign and finding votes elsewhere.
Activism — Help How You Can!
Daniels, more than anything else, needs campaign contributions to make this race competitive. She only raised $82k for the second quarter, and the third quarter results aren’t out yet. That is not enough to put this race on the board, and it is the #1 weakness of her campaign as it stands. She also has a low $52k cash on hand at the end of June.
Insurrectionist Rep. Scott Perry, on the other hand, added a healthy $382k to his campaign coffers, which gives him $920k cash on hand. In order to make this a race, Daniels needs donations. Are you willing to donate to her campaign?
DONATE TO SHAMAINE DANIELS HERE
She has put out the call on Twitter (as of 9/25) for volunteers to help phone and text bank to overcome her lack of cash. Volunteers are even more critical for sleeper races that may break late than they are for other types of campaigns. Sign up by using the Join the Campaign and then choosing volunteer. She could use the assist!
In terms of social media, I found her campaign through Twitter political influencers about the time that Rep. Scott Perry had his phone confiscated. Daniels has 14.6k followers on Twitter, which hopefully has helped with her fundraising and being able to get her message out. We’ve got to stop #PardonMePerry, as she calls him for his role on 1/6.
When I say that this is a sleeper race, it doesn’t mean that Shamaine Daniels has a good chance of winning right now. She would need the political environment to get even better, or for Rep. Scott Perry to be charged with a crime after his phone was taken. Without one of those momentum shifts, she is more likely to lose than win. Majority Savers can only bring recognition to this race. I am unable to make her instantly competitive.
How to find all Majority Savers’ diaries:
To find all past and future diaries of the Majority Savers group, go to their Diaries List. (We suggest that you Bookmark that page.) The home page of the Majority Savers group is here.
Shamaine Daniels for Pennsylvania-10!
Donate | Volunteer | Campaign | FaceBook | Twitter