U.S. Rep. Scott Perry will face TV anchor Janelle Stelson in November after Democratic primary win

Janelle Stelson, a former WGAL television news anchor, won the Democratic primary to face U.S. Rep. Scott Perry in the fall in a central Pennsylvania congressional race that’ll be closely watched.

Stelson, 63, previously asked Perry, a six-term Republican incumbent, questions as a nonpartisan journalist. Now, she’ll answer questions herself, in competition with him. The 10th Congressional District includes Dauphin County and parts of York and Cumberland Counties.

“At some point, I realized I needed to move from the public service of telling about our concerns and issues to actually trying to do something about them, to get to Washington, raise my right hand and work on the issues and concerns that people have been telling me about for 38 years now,” she said in an interview earlier this month.

Stelson won a six-way primary to face Perry, defeating “Top Gun” veteran Mike O’Brien among other candidates.

The Associated Press called Stelson’s victory at 9:28 p.m.

“I am reaching out to Democrats, Independents, and Republicans who Congressman Perry has ignored and disrespected, to make the case for commonsense problem-solving, instead of extremism and chaos,” Stelson said in a statement on election night.

Perry is the former chair of the far-right House Freedom Caucus and an ally of former President Donald Trump. He urged lawmakers to throw out Pennsylvania’s electoral votes hours after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, and later tried to block the feds from accessing his phone after it was seized by the FBI.

Stelson has been going after Perry with a heavy hand since the start of her Democratic primary campaign. While her Democratic primary opponents attacked her recent and long history as a registered Republican, her experience on both sides of the aisle could help her in November.

Stelson’s October campaign launch attracted more money and attention to the race. In December, the Cook Political Report said she “could be his strongest opponent yet,” and shifted its rating of the district from “likely Republican” to “lean Republican.”

Philadelphia Democratic strategist J.J. Balaban called her “the Jim Gardner of Harrisburg” in terms of the familiarity voters will have with the long-time anchor.

In her campaign video, Stelson made a plea to both Democrats and Republicans who believe in civil rights, abortion rights, workers’ rights, funding the police and FBI, and democracy.

The House Majority PAC, Democrats’ main PAC for House races, announced in early April that it will spend $2.4 million on ads in the district, signaling an aggressive push to flip it blue.

Staff writers Julia Terruso and Jeff Gammage contributed to this article.