Longtime incumbent Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) lost his reelection race for Pennsylvania’s 10th Congressional District to Democratic challenger Janelle Stelson in a rematch of their 2024 contest.
The Associated Press called the 10th District for Stelson at 10:41 p.m. She garnered 56.5% of the vote against Perry’s 43.5%, with 85% of the vote counted.
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Perry has held the district since 2013, but newer congressional maps, ordered by the state Supreme Court, have made the seat more competitive since 2018. In 2024, Perry narrowly defeated Stelson by roughly 5,100 votes. Perry’s 2024 race was the closest of any of his reelection bids. At the same time, President Donald Trump won the district over then-Vice President Kamala Harris by 5 points in the 2024 presidential election.
Perry and Stelson only debated each other once in the lead-up to Election Day. Stelson, a former television news anchor, accused Perry of pushing Pennsylvanians off their health insurance by supporting changes to Medicaid policy in Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Perry, for his part, claimed he voted to throw illegal immigrants off Medicaid.
In the lead-up to Election Day, the Cook Political Report rated the race as “leans Democrat” after initially rating it a “toss-up.”
Stelson had the backing of popular Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA) and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which included her in its “Red To Blue” program. She ran on an affordability message slamming the Republican Party for high gas prices and the cost of living.
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Perry is a former chairman of the House Freedom Caucus and was supported by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), who campaigned with him in the state in early October. Republican National Committee Chairman Joe Gruters also campaigned with Perry in October.
The 10th District seat encompasses Dauphin County and parts of Cumberland and York counties.