U.S. Rep. Scott Perry loses rematch to Democrat Janelle Stelson

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(The Center Square) – Democrat Janelle Stelson has defeated seven-term incumbent U.S. Rep. Scott Perry for Pennsylvania’s 10th Congressional District. 

The Associated Press called the race in favor of Stelson, a former central Pennsylvania television anchor, before 11 p.m. As of 11:25 p.m., with 99% of votes counted, she led Perry by 10 percentage points. 

“As a longtime local TV news anchor, Janelle Stelson has been a trusted voice for Central Pennsylvanians for years,” DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene said. “Now, voters have put their trust in Janelle to be their next member of Congress because she knows that leadership starts with listening. Janelle is going to bring Central Pennsylvanians’ voices with her to the halls of Congress, and she will work with anyone to fight corruption and lower costs for working families.”

The 2026 showdown between the two was a rematch from the previous cycle. In that race, Perry defeated Stelson by 1.2 points, which was his tightest race since winning a seat in the U.S. House.

Perry, former chair of the conservative U.S. House Freedom Caucus, received support from President Donald Trump, while Stelson has the endorsement of Gov. Josh Shapiro.

The rematch between Stelson and Perry was expected to be close, although pundits showed Stelson entering Election Day as a slight favorite.

Sabato’s Crystal Ball and The Cook Political Report described the race as “Leans Democratic,” while Inside Elections rated it as “Tilt Democratic.”

In addition to Stelson unseating Perry for the congressional seat in southcentral Pennsylvania, Democrats flipped two other congressional seats. Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti and Bob Brooks, a firefighters union leader, defeated freshman GOP Congressmen Rob Bresnahan and Ryan Mackenzie for Pennsylvania’s 8th and 7th Congressional Districts. 

Shapiro also cruised to reelection on Tuesday evening, defeating State Treasurer Stacy Garrity.