Republican Rep. Scott Perry defeated Democrat challenger Janette Stelson in the race for Pennsylvania’s Tenth Congressional District, ensuring one of Donald Trump’s top allies will remain seated.
The Associated Press called the race Thursday afternoon. With over 95% of votes tallied, Perry had captured 50.8% of the vote to Stelson’s 49.2%.
The conservative Perry, a former chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, was one of Democrats’ top targets this cycle.
His victory completes Republican domination of the Keystone State in a year in which all eyes focused on Pennsylvania in the election cycle’s waning days. Trump won the state’s electoral votes, and Dave McCormick defeated three-term Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA).
Republican Rob Breshanan also defeated incumbent Democrat Matt Cartwright in a Scranton-area district containing President Joe Biden’s hometown – a symbolic blow to Democrats in an election cycle they’d like to forget.
Despite no viable path to a fourth term, Casey refuses to concede. McCormick claimed victory Thursday afternoon.
The political newcomer Stelson, a former television anchor who did not live inside the Tenth District, stuck primarily to generic Democrat talking points during her campaign, speaking often about abortion. She lamented that after Roe was overturned she “had to look into the TV camera and tell women that for the first time in 50 years our reproductive rights are no longer protected under federal law.”
She had assistance from popular Democrat Gov. Josh Shapiro, who visited the district to campaign for her.
Perry and Stelson debated in October, with immigration and border security issues rising as one of the key differences between the candidates.
Stelson argued for the failed Senate pro-migration bill, which Perry, a border security hawk, accurately pointed out would “let in 5000 people illegally a day.”
As Breitbart reported:
In January, leaks of the bill’s contents doomed it within hours, with Senators in both parties ultimately opposing it. Those leaks, which were later proved accurate, noted the compromise bill increased legal immigration levels while expediting work permits for migrants released into the United States.
Most infamously, the bill permitted tens of thousands of migrants to cross the border every week before the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) could use any type of border controls.
Perry argued the increased migrant crossings permitted by the failed legislation would lead to even more American victims of migrant crime.
“I wonder if my opponent knows the names of Jocelyn Nungaray, Laken Riley, or Rachel Marin because they were horrifically raped and murdered by people that came into this country under the same provisions that were provided in that bill,” he said.
“We can’t afford having these people here,” Perry added. “We can’t afford our own groceries, let alone their housing, their medical care, and their education.”
The Biden-Harris record on the border and the economy sunk Harris, Stelson, and other Democrats down the ballot across the nation. Trump will come in ready to solve both crises.
With Perry’s victory, Trump will have a powerful Capitol Hill ally in place.
Bradley Jaye is a Capitol Hill Correspondent for Breitbart News. Follow him on X/Twitter at @BradleyAJaye.
