Democrats bullish about TV anchor Janelle Stelson's chances against GOP Rep. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania
Some of the town squares and tree-lined streets in south central Pennsylvania are political battleground areas, and they look the part. On Keller Street, near St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Mechanicsburg, one lawn is jammed with blue Democratic campaign signs, but down the road from the busy Sheetz gas station in the 18th-century township of Mount Holly Springs, side-by-side red signs promote former President Donald Trump and GOP Rep. Scott Perry, who represents the 10th Congressional District.
Democrats are bullish on their prospects here, as both parties fixate on a number of potentially competitive races in the state. Republicans dismiss any thought that Perry, a six-term Republican and Army War College graduate, is truly vulnerable in November.
The 10th-District race has some distinctive features and unique candidate back stories that have thrust the race into the spotlight, even in a state that's already saturated with high-stakes political races.
Through the end of June, federal campaign finance records showed Perry with a large spending advantage for the entire cycle, compared to his Democratic challenger. But those latest filings also indicated Perry was trailing in cash on hand and his reelection bid, having directed a sizable amount of his campaign funding toward legal counsel.
Democrats found a high-profile challenger to run for the seat in Janelle Stelson. A newcomer to politics, she is a familiar face throughout the 10th District as a longtime television anchor on a powerhouse TV station based in York, Pennsylvania.
Stelson entered the race last October, putting her at the common disadvantage of lost time against an incumbent who had been able to fundraise for months before she declared her candidacy. And yet, from early April to the end of June, Stelson raised more than twice what Perry brought in during that same period of time.
Perry, who won the district by a comfortable 7 points in 2022, has cut a high profile with Republican colleagues. He was previously chair of the conservative House Freedom Caucus and his roots in Pennsylvania include studies at Penn State University and a stint in the station national guard. But Democrats sensed an opportunity to oust Perry after he came under scrutiny during Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.
The FBI briefly seized and copied data from Perry's phone in 2022. He was also issued a subpoena by the House Jan. 6 select committee amid investigations into whether he helped try to install a Trump loyalist in the Justice Department to help Trump's efforts.
Perry has denied any wrongdoing, and he was not prosecuted for defying the committee's subpoena. But Democrats are emphasizing the scrutiny surrounding Perry as they seek to boost Stelson's campaign.
"He's been in power a long time, and I think people are hungry for something new," Stelson told CBS News in between campaign stops in September. Along with other Democratic challenges in House races across the country, Stelson points to improving fundraising as evidence that she's a formidable challenger.
"We were able to outraise the six-term incumbent last quarter by double, making the most vulnerable MAGA extremist in Congress even more vulnerable," she said.
Democrats are touting Stelson's competitive fundraising and her initial series of advertisements. In one ad, Stelson argued, "Perry is not for freedom. He's all about his power."
Heading into a party meeting in the basement of the Capitol in mid-September, Perry told CBS News, "I fight on behalf of the people that I represent. I think they know that, and I just tell my story."
Perry also pushed back on a question about the subpoena and scrutiny he received during the House Jan. 6 probe.
"Let me characterize the question correctly, asking for an investigation — you term it otherwise — but asking for an investigation based on the wishes of my 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 its effort to preserve the Republican majority in the House.
"The Democrat Party left behind voters in Pennsylvania 10th District by embracing radical left-wing policies that drove up crime, the cost of living and unleashed chaos at the border," an NRCC spokesman told CBS News "As they have in previous cycles, Pennsylvania voters will reject an out-of-touch Democrat who doesn't even live in the district."
The 10th District race is part of a multi-front political war the parties are fighting in Pennsylvania. The commonwealth is viewed as a decisive — if not the decisive — state in the 2024 presidential race. 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 his fourth term, is running a multi-million dollar campaign to fend off Republican Dave McCormick.
Republicans deny that the 10th District is truly as competitive as other Pennsylvania battleground races, but Stelson said the political complexion of the district is shifting.
"Hampden township in Cumberland County is one of the fastest growing areas in the entire state, and the folks who are coming in are bluer than the folks who have been there before," she told CBS News.
Stelson's unique background adds a variable to the race. As a longtime TV anchor on the local NBC affiliate station, Stelson has visibility that transcends that of other political candidates. She has emphasized her name recognition in campaign ads, speeches and in her interview with CBS News.
"If I haven't been in your living room doing a story on you, chances are I have been in your living room on the TV," she said. "So, being the trusted, nonpartisan voice for 38 years, I think people are responding well to that."
The congressional race drew multiple appearances over the summer from Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat who has been an active surrogate for his party's candidates, including Vice President Kamala Harris.
At a meeting of campaign volunteers in Harrisburg on Sept. 7, Shapiro lauded Stelson in a joint appearance. Earlier this summer, at an event in Cumberland County, he referred to Stelson as a "trusted voice."
One of Perry's fellow House Republicans expressed confidence in his reelection bid.
"He ran a very good race last time, and I think he's doing the same thing now," Rep. Lloyd Smucker told CBS News.
Mike Marinella, a spokesman for the NRCC, thinks that in the final days of the campaign, Democrats will be hard-pressed to invest significantly in Pennsylvania's 10th District. He predicted, "Their resources will be spread thin, making it more of a challenge for them to be competitive in this district."