Katie Porter has been a solid progressive since getting into Congress and has done yeoman’s work in her area of expertise, far more so than most members. She ran for Senate, lost and is now leaving Congress. I have no doubt we haven't heard the last of her. One thing she’s doing right now is spreading around the excess contributions she’s collected to other House candidates— an admirable idea. Except for one thing. She announced, through her PAC, Truth to Power, that he first 3 endorsed candidates are… 3 conservative Democrats, Dave Min (who she exposed as a piece of shit when he ran against her in 2020), Derek Tran and Will Rollins, not any progressives. I’m not going to speculate on her thoughts or motivations. They are, after all winnable seats that the DCCC is prioritizing. And maybe in the next round, Porter will include some progressive candidates. Sue Altman, Jamie McLeod-Skinner and Mondaire Jones are more like Katie politically. And so is Shamaine Daniels, the progressive Democrat in south central Pennsylvania who is taking on MAGA kook Scott Perry.
Unfortunately, an out-of-district life-long Republican, Janelle Stelson, pretending to be a Democrat, is being pushed by the corporate New Dems and by EMILY’s List (which wants her mailing list of wealthy Republican women). Before the New Dems found their perfect candidate, Stelson had been a news anchor for decades, a registered Republican. (Most journalists prefer to register as independents.) Once Stelson decided taking on Perry in a MAGA primary would be suicidal, she reregistered as a Democrat (early 2023), announcing her run soon after.
PA-10 includes all of Dauphin County— which gave Biden a 9-point win over Trump— and parts of redder Cumberland and York counties. The PVI is R+5 and Perry, a ringleader in Trump’s attempted coup, is viewed as vulnerable this cycle. Trump beat Biden by 4 points and in 2022, Harrisburg City Council member Shamaine Daniels (D), won Dauphin County and held Perry to 53.8%, despite getting no help from the DCCC. Perry spent $2,942,589 to Daniels’ $404,374.
This year, with half a dozen candidates in the primary, two from out of the district, a former Marine from California, Michael O’Brien, and the former Republican from Lancaster County, Janelle Stelson, are raising the most money, although neither has come anywhere near Perry’s $1.6 million. The DCCC seemed to be leaning towards O'Brien but he hasn't gotten any traction on the ground and the DCCC has backed off and is staying neutral.
When I asked Daniels how she differs from Stelson, she was clear: “The fundamental difference between myself and Stelson is that I have a long record demonstrating my commitment to Democratic values and she does not.” As for O’Brien, he has no political record at all.
An old Howard Stern tape has shaken up the race in recent days because, on it, Stelson makes an ugly racist remark about Asians. And in the last debate, O’Brien called her out for voting in GOP primaries, meaning she had cast voted for candidates who are “anti-abortion, anti-union, anti-public education, anti-climate, anti-democracy.”
Daniels statement after the cat-tacos comment was shown to her: “Janelle Stelson, a Republican until last year, has spent this Primary trying to convince Democratic voters that she shares our values. Clearly she does not. Her comments are too offensive for Howard Stern, and that says a lot. Obviously, Stelson owes an apology to the Asian community. She also owes an apology to all of the people of PA-10 who have welcomed her as a guest. While Janelle does not live in PA-10, as a candidate for Congress in this district and a resident and on air personality in neighboring Lancaster County, her comments paint an ugly picture that does not reflect the welcoming, caring community I’m proud to call my home. After a career spent reading other people’s words off of a teleprompter, we see what Janelle has to say when she doesn’t have a script. Now we understand why Janelle’s campaign kept her away from the numerous debates and forums held throughout the district during this primary season.”
The primary election is April 23, a week from Tuesday. If you’re interested in seeing a progressive beat Perry— and not a Republican pretending to be a Democrat lose to him— please consider contributing to Daniels’ get-out-the-vote efforts here.