Democrat Janelle Stelson, who lost to Republican U.S. Rep. Scott Perry by barely a percentage point in 2024, will run again in the right-leaning congressional district in Pennsylvania.
Stelson, a one-time local TV anchor and personality, mounted a challenge to Perry, the former leader of the hardline House Freedom Caucus. It was designed to sway moderate Republicans, portraying him as an extremist on abortion rights and slamming Perry’s votes against Democratic-penned bills that carried benefits for firefighters and veterans.
“The story about Scott Perry just keeps getting worse,” Stelson said in an interview.
Stelson called Perry the “deciding vote” in the House’s 218-214 vote on Republicans’ tax break and spending cut package that she said would strip Medicaid benefits from thousands of his constituents, possibly shut down rural hospitals and further stretch health care facilities, such as nursing homes.