Democrat · Pennsylvania's 10th District · 2026
Janelle Stelson
Stelson was born in Fairbanks and grew up near Seattle as the oldest of four sisters.
Biography
Janelle Stelson grew up as the oldest of four sisters, with a state trooper and teacher for a father and a mother who worked at a Navy shipyard.1 Born in Fairbanks and raised near Seattle, she studied at the University of Puget Sound before building her career in Pennsylvania.1
An early job involved writing speeches for Egypt's embassy in Washington.2 Television followed, eventually including 26 years at Lancaster's WGAL.2 Her reporting took her to Kosovo with the Pennsylvania National Guard and to New York after the September 11 attacks.2 She was an anchor on the WGAL newscast that won a regional Emmy in 2023.3
Stelson had registered as a Republican, like her parents, before becoming a Democrat in 2023.1 She has said the Supreme Court's reversal of Roe v.1 Wade helped persuade her to enter politics.1 She lost to Scott Perry by about 5,000 votes in 2024 and is challenging him again in a district covering Harrisburg and parts of York and Cumberland counties.24
Her platform combines restoring federal abortion protections with a promise to serve no more than 12 years in Congress.5 She supports banning congressional stock trading and former members' lobbying, expanding homebuilding and small home loans, and making tax exemptions for tips and overtime permanent.5 She also wants to end broad tariffs and the war in Iran, arguing both are adding to the costs families face at home.5
Record and controversies
Outside income from a podcast series
Stelson's financial disclosure listed $45,000 from Voting for America for producing a four episode podcast series, according to NOTUS's July reporting.6 The outlet obtained recordings of all four episodes, although public listening links no longer worked.6 Her campaign said they had previously appeared on Spotify and Apple; a person familiar with the arrangement attributed their disappearance to discontinued hosting payments.6 The article raised questions about the Democratic operatives' organization and its funding, rather than establishing that the disclosed outside income was illegal or that the podcasts never existed.6
Disputed DHS claim about campaign employment
In October, DHS linked Stelson's campaign to a man arrested after an exposure incident; AP reported that police found campaign flyers and recorded his claim that he was distributing them for work.7 Her campaign denied employing him, public filings showed no direct payments, and AP said a possible outside organization connection was unclear.7 The man pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct, rather than the original exposure charge.7 Her campaign denied vendor involvement; Axios reported that the Office of Special Counsel would open a file after a complaint concerning ICE's statement.8 Opening a file does not establish a Hatch Act violation or resolve the disputed employment claim.