HARRISBURG, Pa. — A former Central Pennsylvania news reporter announced she's running for Congress.
Janelle Stelson, a former anchor at WGAL-TV, said this week she's running to represent Pennsylvania's 10th District.
Should she emerge as the winner of a crowded Democratic field in the next year's Pennsylvania primary, the veteran news reporter would take on incumbent Republican Scott Perry in November.
In addition to her time at WGAL, Stelson also served as a reporter for ABC-27 in Central Pennsylvania.
In a video announcing her campaign, Stelson said she has spent nearly 40 years in Central PA telling the stories of its residents.
“I have lived and worked in Central Pennsylvania for nearly 40 years," she said. "It has been my honor to tell the stories of thousands of people. But there’s one story that’s getting harder to ignore, because it keeps getting worse: Our Congressman, Scott Perry."
Stelson, who retired from WGAL in September, is one of four Democrats to officially announce their plans to run. She joins Harrisburg City Council member and 2022 Democratic nominee Shamaine Daniels, retired Marine Mike O'Brien, and U.S. Army veterans Rick Coplen and Bob Forbes.
It is unclear when exactly Pennsylvania's primary will take place next year; a bill to move the primary date from the last Tuesday in April to the first Tuesday in April was approved by the House State Government Committee earlier this week and has moved to the state Senate for consideration.
Perry, 61, has been in office since 2013 when he was elected to represent Pennsylvania's 4th District, which was renumbered as the 10th District in 2019. A former member of the Pennsylvania House, Perry is a vocal supporter of former president Donald Trump and chair of the U.S. House's Freedom Caucus.
Pennsylvania's 10th District represents all of Dauphin County and portions of Cumberland and York counties.
