When does a candidate for office take the plunge? It isn’t easy as serious campaigning is a full-time job. You have to have connections, money, and even be willing to quit your old job to make it work. Janelle Stelson faced this choice and decided to go for it against insurrectionist Rep. Scott Perry.
Janelle Stelson has been a familiar face to WGAL-TV 8 viewers for 26 years in Central Pennsylvania, but she made the momentous decision to quit her high-profile TV anchor job last September.
…
Stelson was live on air during her 5:30 pm newscast when the stunning Supreme Court Dobbs decision dropped in June 2022.
That’s the decision which overturned Roe v. Wade, the landmark ruling that made abortion legal for women in America for 50 years.
It was that moment which galvanized the award-winning news anchor to quit her job and pursue a run for Congress.
“I had to look out into the camera in my best, at-the-time nonpartisan way and tell every woman watching that her rights had been rolled back 50 years. That took a serious chunk out of my heart that day,” Stelson confessed to The Keystone.
“And then, when we’re getting reaction from our congress people and Congressman Perry is basically doing a jig, he was just delighted that our rights had been overturned and taken away. That’s when I really started thinking seriously about this.”
She’s in it to win it, and she’s hoping to unite Democrats, Independents, and even disaffected Republicans like herself together for her campaign. They are counting on Republicans defecting from the extremist Perry over January 6th and Dobbs.
Stelson is in for a tough race even with Rep. Scott Perry being a terrible member of Congress. The lean of the district (as covered below the fold) is such that Trump won it. Yet Democrats are excited about her campaign and really think Perry is vulnerable.
The question for all of us is why Scott Perry is still in Congress despite being an insurrectionist in a swing seat.
Like reading election themed articles? I am continuing a massive series of them each Sunday and Wednesday morning! Make sure to follow #SaveTheMajority and the group Save the Majority so you don’t miss important races down the ballot!
Rep. Scott Perry is part of what I am calling the #MAGADozen. These Republicans in GOP-leaning swing districts are full-throated MAGA supporters and can be beaten. Janelle Stelson is one of the challengers I am fundraising for.
Janelle Stelson for Pennsylvania-10
Campaign Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | DONATE | Volunteer
What’s the Big Idea?
THIS DISTRICT LEANS REPUBLICAN, with an R+5 PVI
Election results for PA-10 in 2022.
This district has been in existence for three election cycles now, as the gerrymandered maps the Pennsylvania legislature used to boost the GOP were deemed unconstitutional before the 2018 election cycle. With a Democratic governor and a GOP legislature, the maps were drawn once again by the courts, with this district largely staying intact.
In 2018, the blue wave and the changed district lines 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, Perry won again 53-47.
Former President Trump won this district 51.3% to 47.2% signaling that this district should be a stretch to be seen as competitive. There are four reasons why Democrats are excited about this district:
-
Rep. Scott Perry is an insurrectionist and a Freedom Caucus true believer who underperformed last cycle against token opposition.
-
Janelle Stelson is a long-time TV news anchor in the area and about the strongest challenger they could find.
-
Dobbs energy with a pro-choice woman versus an anti-abortion male. This may be an ideal contest to see how strong the blowback for this Supreme Court decision is.
-
This district is slowly trending to the left, with Harrisburg, York, and Cumberland Counties in particular becoming more blue.
In 2022, Shamaine Daniels had a miniscule campaign with very little funds raised and very little recognition. Even with this weak opposition, Rep. Scott Perry was held to a 53.8% to 46.2% margin. It is this underwhelming margin that gives our side hope. Another reason for hope could be the missing voters that voted in 2020 but not 2022. 391k voted in 2020, but only 314k voted in 2022.
Here’s where this 10th district race will be won.
- Harrisburg: This area is reliably blue, and only getting more so with time. This is the base for Democrats, and Stelson will have to put in an exceptional performance here to offset other areas of the district more amenable to the GOP.
- York: While the county is hopelessly red, the city itself is a blue oasis in a red county. Again, Stelson 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 Stelson. Biden got the county down to a 44-54 margin against him, and Stelson must 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 the district are hopelessly red. That is common with rural areas almost everywhere. Stelson may have to rely on her past as a TV anchor to persuade voters to consider her outside the cities.
Janelle Stelson: An Emmy-Winning TV Anchor
Janelle Stelson may live outside the district, but she is well known within the boundaries.
Janelle Stelson was born in Fairbanks, Alaska and moved to the Seattle region with her family growing up. Her father was a state trooper and a teacher, while her mom worked at the local Naval shipyard. Her family, including Janelle, grew up as loyal Republican voters. Stelson only recently shifted her voter registration from the GOP to Democratic.
After going to the University of Puget Sound, Stelson wound up in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania as a television news anchor. Her Emmy-winning coverage was lauded as being non-partisan and generally excellent. Stelson consistently had the top ratings for the 11PM news hour for WGAL. Her coverage was trusted by central Pennsylvanians for over 25 years.
Janelle Stelson is touting many positive issues for her campaign. First and foremost, she is running on protecting your rights - including abortion rights. She is also concerned with the attacks on voting rights by MAGA politicians such as Rep. Scott Perry.
She is also going to work on bringing the cost of living down for everyone in central Pennsylvania by going after greedy corporations. She would work to raise the minimum wage, still $7.25 nationwide and in Pennsylvania. She will also invest in jobs, infrastructure, and fight free trade deals that have decimated the Rust Belt.
Furthermore, she will work with anyone that has good ideas in Congress. When accepting the New Dems endorsement, Stelson stated, “As your Congresswoman, I will bring the commonsense, pragmatic leadership we deserve — to grow the economy for our middle class, improve access to high-quality healthcare, and cut costs for Pennsylvanians.”
Finally, Stelson knows how important a quality education is for the future of this nation. She would increase pay for everyone that impacts the life of a child at school - from teachers to meal providers to bus drivers. This is one of her main priorities if elected to Congress.
Stelson will be amongst the most bipartisan members of Congress if elected. What a change that would be from the hyperpartisan Rep. Scott Perry.
Rep. Scott Perry: An Insurrectionist in a Swing Seat
Ask Rep. Scott Perry if he ever got his phone back from the FBI — I dare ya!
Scott Perry was born in 1962 in San Diego to the descendants of Colombian migrants. Her mother fled San Diego to head to central Pennsylvania because of persistent abuse. Perry’s home initially didn’t have electricity and running water and the family lived on public assistance. Perry began supporting the family at age 13 by picking fruit and other odd jobs.
Perry knew an education or joining the military were his only means of escape from his rough life. He joined the Army National Guard after high school. He went to officer training school and was commissioned a second lieutenant and qualified as a helicopter pilot. He saw action in Bosnia and Iraq before returning home to command training centers. He retired from the National Guard as a brigadier general in 2019.
Perry also had a brief stint as a businessman after graduating from Penn State with a business degree. He founded Hydrotech Mechanical Services. This small business was investigated in 2002 for falsifying reports to the government. This case was pursued after Perry reported problems at a sewage plant. He credits his distrust of government to this incident which was expunged after completing a rehabilitation program.
Scott Perry first ran for office in 2006. He won the GOP primary for Pennsylvania’s 92 House district with 41% of the vote and crushed the Democratic opposition in the general election. He ran unopposed in 2008 and 2010. This set him up for contesting the 4th Congressional district when Rep. Todd Platts retired in 2012. He easily won the district year after year until new maps were imposed in 2018.
Perry is a House Freedom Caucus member and was its leader from 2022-24. He has compiled a far-right record while in Congress and often votes against items that would otherwise pass the House overwhelmingly. His record of these types of votes is too detailed to post every link, so it is best to browse the DCCC opposition page and his Wikipedia entry for a full list of terrible votes Perry has taken. Possibly his worst vote was being one of a handful of members of the GOP to vote to NOT award the Capitol Police officers with the Congressional Gold Medal for saving their asses.
Perry’s record on social issues is especially repugnant even as he claims to be libertarian on these issues. He claims to want to leave abortion up to the states and to protect IVF, but that statement falls apart under the slightest scrutiny. He supports the Life at Conception Act which would ban abortion and IVF treatments. He has flip-flopped on support of protecting gay marriage - at first voting for the Respect for Marriage Act but changing course on the final passage of the bill.
Then there are all of the conspiracy theories and weird statements that Scott Perry has said or supports. Despite being the descendant of Latino migrants, Perry often spouts “replacement theory” rhetoric and that the KKK is the “military wing of the Democratic Party”. Perry claims that Democrats are “not the loyal opposition” and “want to destroy the country you grew up in”. He believed ISIS was involved in the Las Vegas mass shooting despite no evidence supporting his claim. Oh, and he loves sharing anti-Semitic memes as well.
Scott Perry was a key player in the actions leading up to the 1/6 insurrection. They were so criminal that Perry asked for a pardon from then-President Trump. After the 2020 election, Perry participated in “Stop the Steal” rallies and spouted and forwarded insane election conspiracy theories. He signed onto the effort to annul Pennsylvania’s electoral votes at the Supreme Court. But that’s only the tip of the iceberg.
Perry also pushed for the ousting of Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen, who resisted calls to investigate the 2020 election. Perry wanted Jeffrey Clark to head the DoJ instead as Clark spouted conspiracy theories about the election. On the day of January 6th, 2021, Perry joined Sen. Josh Hawley and other Republicans in objecting to Pennsylvania’s electoral votes.
The saga doesn’t stop there. Perry was targeted by the January 6th Committee for his role in the insurrection. Evidence that Perry communicated with Chief of Staff Mark Meadows was sought by the committee, but Perry refused to cooperate at all. In August 2022, Perry had his phone seized by the FBI who executed a warrant.
He sought to block the FBI from reading his text messages citing the Speech and Debate Clause of the US Constitution. In February 2023, a judge ruled that the text messages were not covered. Perry appealed and it was ruled that a partial tranche of text messages were allowed to be viewed by the FBI. No criminal charges have been filed against Perry and an effort to block him from appearing on the ballot was dropped after the US Supreme Court ruled that former President Trump was not disqualified by Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.
Since the courts and the criminal justice system have failed to dislodge Rep. Scott Perry, it is up to voters to rid Congress of this blatant insurrectionist.
How Can You Help?
Janelle Stelson actually has outraised Rep. Scott Perry. Perry has traditionally been a poor fundraiser and Stelson has more cash-on-hand already after one good quarter. Stelson raised $1.33M for the Q2 reporting period while Perry only raised $613k. Perry only has $789k to spend, while Stelson has saved up $1.11M. Stelson being included in the Red to Blue program certainly kickstarted the effort to oust Perry!
Interestingly enough, the GOP doesn’t think Perry is vulnerable at all. They have decided not to spend money on his behalf and none of their allies are doing so either. The Democratic Party and aligned groups are spending serious money on this race equaling $2.4M. Polling has shown this race a virtual tie within the margin of error, so I am not sure what the GOP is thinking here.
If we are to pull off the upset (and it would still be an upset at this point), volunteering will be critical. There is a canvassing effort every weekend at various times and locations. Details will be provided once you sign up. Swing Blue Alliance also does virtual phone banking every Thursday for Stelson.
A different means of connecting with other volunteers and those who support the Democratic Party is available. Cumberland Dems will have two picnics on September 8th. York Dems will also have a picnic on the same date. Enjoy some good food and perhaps a chance to meet some candidates for office in central Pennsylvania!
Janelle Stelson needs a few more breaks her way to oust Perry. The incumbent getting arrested for his role on January 6th would be one such advantage. Another one would be MVP Harris winning Pennsylvania in a rout just like Gov. Shapiro. Shapiro carried this district in 2022, and Fetterman narrowly lost it.
Rep. Scott Perry has to be seen as the favorite in the race due to the lean of the district. According to Daily Kos Elections, he is the 33rd most vulnerable member of the GOP. The fact that he is vulnerable at all demonstrates how weak of an incumbent he truly is and how strong the challenger could be.
The question for central Pennsylvania is why Rep. Scott Perry is still in Congress after January 6th, 2021.
Here is the Defeat the MAGA Dozen Fund on ActBlue! These 15 incumbent members of the GOP are MAGA Republicans residing in swing districts. The challengers are all strong and can win in these tougher districts. Please donate and then share a link to this site on your social media! #MAGADozen
