Some of the town squares and tree-lined streets of central Pennsylvania are political battlegrounds, and they look the part. On Keller Street, near St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Mechanicsburg, one yard is jammed with blue Democratic campaign signs, but down the street from the busy Sheetz gas station in the 18th-century town of Mount Holly Springs, side-by-side red. signs promote former President Donald Trump and GOP Rep. Scott Perrywho represents the 10th Congressional District.
Democrats are confident about their prospects here, as both parties focus on several potentially competitive races in the state. Republicans rejected the idea that Perry, a Republican War College and six-term Army graduate, was vulnerable November.
The 10th District race has some distinctive features and unique candidate comeback stories that have thrust the race into the spotlight, even in a state already saturated with high-stakes political races.
Kent Nishimura/Getty Images
In late June, federal campaign finance records showed Perry with a large spending advantage for the entire cycle, compared to his Democratic challengers. But the latest filings also show that Perry is cashing in on the money and his re-election bid, as he gave his legal counsel a sizable campaign donation.
Democrats have found a high-profile challenger to run for the seat in Janelle Stelson. A newcomer to politics, he became familiar throughout the 10th District as a longtime television anchor at a powerhouse TV station based in York, Pennsylvania.
Photo by Joe Lamberti for The Washington Post via Getty Images
Stelson entered the race last October, putting him at a public disadvantage due to lost time against incumbents who had been able to fundraise for months before announcing his candidacy. However, from early April to late June, Stelson raised more than double what Perry brought in during the same period.
Perry, who won the district by 7 points in 2022, has built a high profile with his fellow Republicans. He previously chaired the conservative House Freedom Caucus and his Pennsylvania roots include studying at Penn State University and serving as the station’s national watchdog. But Democrats sensed an opportunity to oust Perry after being scrutinized during Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
The FBI briefly seized and copied the data from Call Perry in 2022. He was also issued a subpoena by the House January 6 select committee in the middle of investigations of whether he helped try to install a Trump loyalist in the Department of Justice to help Trump’s efforts.
Perry has denied wrongdoing, and he was not prosecuted for defying the committee’s subpoena. But Democrats emphasized the scrutiny surrounding Perry as they sought to campaign for Stelson.
“They’ve been in power for a long time, and I think people are hungry for something new,” Stelson told CBS News between campaign stops in September. Along with other Democratic challengers in House races across the state, Stelson pointed to increased fundraising as evidence that he is a strong challenger.
“We were able to outnumber the last six-year incumbent by a factor of two, making the most vulnerable MAGA extremists in Congress even more vulnerable,” he said.
Democrats touted Stelson’s competitive fundraising and early ad series. In one ad, Stelson argued, “Perry’s not for freedom. He’s all about power.”
Heading into a party meeting in the basement of the Capitol in mid-September, Perry told CBS News, “I’m fighting on behalf of the people I represent. They know that, and I’m just telling my story.”
Perry also pushed back on the question of the subpoena and review received during the January 6 House probe.
“Let me get the question straight, asking for an investigation — you say it’s not — but asking for an investigation based on the wishes of many, many, many constituents is an appropriate role for a member of Congress,” he said.
The National Republican Congressional Committee, the party’s House campaign arm, has targeted Stelson in an effort to preserve the Republican majority in the House.
“The Democratic Party is abandoning voters in Pennsylvania’s 10th District by implementing radical left-wing policies that have led to crime, the cost of living and chaos at the border,” an NRCC spokesperson told CBS News. concerned who do not live in the district.
The 10th District race is part of a multi-front political battle fought by the parties in Pennsylvania. The commonwealth is considered decisive – if not at determine – the state in the presidential race 2024. Republicans are touting their efforts to win a pair of competitive House races in the Wilkes-Barre and Lehigh Valley areas. Meanwhile, Sen. Bob Casey, a Democrat seeking a fourth term, ran a multi-million dollar campaign to fend off Republican Dave McCormick.
Republicans argue that the 10th District is as competitive as other Pennsylvania battleground races, but Stelson said the complexion of the district’s politics is changing.
“The town of Hampden in Cumberland County is one of the fastest-growing areas in the entire country, and the people who are coming are more blue-collar than the people who have been there before,” he told CBS News.
Stelson’s unique background adds variables to the race. As a longtime TV anchor at a local NBC affiliate station, Stelson has visibility beyond that of other political candidates. He has emphasized his name recognition in campaign ads, speeches and in interviews with CBS News.
“If I’m not in your living room telling a story about you, chances are I’m already in your living room on TV,” he said. “So, being a trusted nonpartisan voice for 38 years, I think people have responded well.”
The congressional race drew several appearances over the summer from Pennsylvania Gov. Josh ShapiroDemocrats who have been active surrogates for their party’s candidates, including Vice President Kamala Harris.
At a meeting of campaign volunteers in Harrisburg on September 7, Shapiro lauded Stelson in a joint appearance. Earlier this summer, at an event in Cumberland County, he called Stelson “a trusted voice.”
One of Perry’s Republican House members expressed confidence in his re-election bid.
“He ran a really good race last time, and I think he’s doing the same thing now,” Rep. Lloyd Smucker told CBS News.
Mike Marinella, spokesman for the NRCC, thinks that in the last days of the campaign, Democrats will be hard-pressed to invest significantly in Pennsylvania’s 10th District. He predicted, “Resources will be spread thin, making it more challenging for them to be competitive in this district.”
Scott MacFarlane
