GOP Rep. Scott Perry narrowly behind in Pennsylvania reelection bid: Poll

A new poll of a key Pennsylvania battleground district shows incumbent Rep. Scott Perry (R) narrowly trailing his Democratic opponent.

The new Susquehanna Polling and Research survey, released Saturday, shows Perry trailing former news anchor Janelle Stelson (D) by three points, 49 percent to 46 percent. Stelson’s lead is within the poll’s margin of error.

Stelson also challenged Perry in 2024, but the Republican won the race by just over one point, or around 5,000 votes.

Pennsylvania’s 10th Congressional District, which Perry represents, is one of a few battleground House seats in Pennsylvania that could determine which party controls the lower chamber for the next two years.

Stelson and Perry faced off this week in their only debate of the election season, in which the two traded jabs over the Iran war, healthcare and GOP representative’s role in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election.

Perry voted not to certify former President Biden’s win in Pennsylvania in 2020, and the FBI seized his phone as part of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack investigation. The Keystone State lawmaker previously chaired the House Freedom Caucus, a group of the chamber’s most conservative members.

Earlier this year, Perry accused the Senate of “dereliction of duty” for not passing a Trump-backed sweeping voting bill, the SAVE America Act. He then co-sponsored a bill to repeal the 17th amendment, which gives the public the direct power to elect senators as opposed to individual state legislatures.

Stelson previously served as a reporter for NBC affiliate WGAL-TV in Lancaster, Pa. She left the station in 2023 before running for Congress.

Nonpartisan election forecaster Decision Desk HQ, a partner of The Hill, gives Stelson a 69 percent chance of flipping the seat for Democrats.

The Susquehanna poll was conducted among 300 likely voters in the 10th district from Oct. 5-11. It has a 5.6-point margin of error.