Janelle Stelson raised $1.2 million in the first few months of her rematch challenge of Scott Perry
The Harrisburg area rematch could be an expensive affair as Democrat Janelle Stelson rakes in more than $1 million in three months to unseat incumbent Republican Scott Perry.
Janelle Stelson has raised more than $1.2 million since launching her rematch campaign in July against Republican U.S. Rep. Scott Perry, according to her campaign.
Stelson, a former broadcast journalist, lost to Perry by just a little more than 1 percentage point in the 2024 election, a tough year for Democrats in Pennsylvania and nationally. She’s making another run as the party hopes to rebound in the 2026 midterm election after President Donald Trump’s win last year.
Stelson, a moderate Democrat who was previously registered as a Republican, was a longtime local news anchor in the region before launching her first campaign against Perry in October 2023.
Perry, a staunch Trump ally and former leader of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, was first elected in 2012.
His Central Pennsylvania district is a top target for Democrats next year. It includes Dauphin County and parts of Cumberland and York Counties.
Stelson has received contributions from more than 8,000 individual donors since launching and has $1 million cash on hand, according to her campaign.
She quickly garnered support for her rematch bid from prominent Pennsylvania Democrats including Gov. Josh Shapiro and Lt. Gov. Austin Davis, as well as a handful of former Republican public officials.
» READ MORE: Janelle Stelson officially launches her rematch campaign against U.S. Rep. Scott Perry after razor-thin loss
Alma Baker, Stelson’s campaign manager, said residents in the 10th Congressional District are already familiar with Stelson and know “that she will fight to lower costs and improve their lives in Congress.”
“That’s why we are proud to have received the support of so many individuals across our community who are sick and tired of Scott Perry selling us out and are ready for new leadership,” Baker added. “Janelle has the momentum and resources to beat Scott Perry and deliver real representation for Central Pennsylvania.”
Perry co-signed a public letter in Newsweek last month arguing in favor of letting COVID-19-era Affordable Care Act subsidies expire. Democrats in Congress are currently fighting to extend those subsidies, triggering the current shutdown standoff.
The October quarterly campaign finance reports, which encompass through Sept. 30, are due on Oct. 15, at which point they will become publicly available.
Perry’s campaign did not provide early fundraising figures.
Perry had more than $1.2 million cash on hand at the end of the second quarter of the year and owed more than $268,000. Stelson reported more than $4,100 cash on hand and no debts at that point, not long before she officially announced her run.
Matt Beynon, Perry’s campaign spokesperson, called Stelson “a racist carpetbagger.”
Stelson lived outside district lines during her campaign last year in nearby Lancaster, but she now lives inside the district in Cumberland County, according to her campaign.
Beynon was also referencing a decade-old joke Stelson made on television about Asian people making “cat tacos,” pulling from a racist trope. Stelson said during her campaign last year that her “comment was wrong” and that she “apologized for it at the time.”
“I was live on TV for thousands of hours over 38 years and one inappropriate joke from a decade ago is the worst thing they can find?” she said in April 2024.
Stelson will face a primary contest with Dauphin County Commissioner Justin Douglas, a progressive pastor, for the chance to challenge Perry. Douglas was elected to his position in 2023, flipping the county commission for the first time in over a century.
Beynon, who also attacked Douglas for aligning with progressives, said Perry’s team is “looking forward to watching as they race to left in the Democrat primary.”
William Lillich, an Army veteran, also filed to run in the Democratic primary.
Karen Lynn Dalton, a Carlisle lawyer who previously worked for Pennsylvania House Republicans, filed to challenge Perry in the Republican primary, and Isabelle Harman, a Carlisle independent, has also filed to run.