GOP Rep. Scott Perry Wins Reelection In Tight Pennsylvania Race

Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) has won reelection, fending off a serious challenge from Democrat Janelle Stelson after she raised huge amounts of money and picked up endorsements from some of Perry’s own former GOP colleagues in Congress.

Perry, who has been in Congress since 2013, had largely coasted to reelection until this year. He’s the former chairman of the far-right Freedom Caucus, and one of Donald Trump’s strongest supporters on Capitol Hill. He is among those in his party who tried to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, but he was specially singled out by the FBI in its probe into what led to the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

The Pennsylvania Republican struggled in his race against Stelson, a long-time news anchor in Harrisburg and a former registered Republican. She massively out-raised Perry in the most recent fundraising quarter, bringing in $2.85 million to his $900,000. Stelson also picked up endorsements from five former House Republicans, who announced their support for her in a letter ripping Scott’s central role in trying to thwart the 2020 election.

“Perhaps nothing is more emblematic of Perry’s brazen self-interest than his involvement in the plot to overturn the results of the 2020 election,” wrote former GOP Reps. Barbara Comstock (Va.), Adam Kinzinger (Ill.), Denver Riggleman (Va.), Dave Trott (Mich.) and Joe Walsh (Ill.).

House Republican leaders swooped in to campaign with Perry in the final weeks of the election, a sign the Pennsylvania Republican was in trouble. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) joined Perry in Cumberland County, and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) appeared with him in Franklintown. Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) also took part in a roundtable and town hall in Harrisburg.

Perry’s challenges were especially surprising given that Trump easily won this district in 2020, defeating Joe Biden by four points.

Stelson was leading Perry by one point in a Harrisburg-based poll last month. That same poll found that Perry had a high unfavorable rating: 38% of voters said they viewed him unfavorably, versus 20% saying the same of Stelson.

See full results from the Pennsylvania House election here.