The Democrat during the unofficial kickoff of his 2026 campaign Janelle Stelson outlined her anti-corruption agenda and how she will represent central Pennsylvania in the 10th Congressional District if she manages to unseat an incumbent Republican Scott Perry.
Speaking at the IBEW Local 229 union hall in York, the former television journalist said Washington’s biggest problem “is the lack of transparency and the careers of politicians who put themselves above the people they are supposed to serve. Too many decisions are made behind closed doors. Too many people go to Washington to make a career and then never come home.”
Stelson said she is running for Congress again because “it’s time for someone to put their feet to the fire.”
Perry defeated Stelson by just over 5,000 votes in 2024 and said she has learned from the experience and will apply them to her 2026 campaign.
“All of this helped us get organized in advance and make sure we were talking to all the people we needed to talk to,” she said. “We have a constituency organizer this time. We have a digital director. I’m working on a lot of things that I wish I had done better last time, and I’m hoping this will make a difference. And just like I did when I was a journalist, I continue to listen, which is probably the most important thing, and hear what everyone cares about.”
Stelson outlined her agenda and priorities, which included a ban on trading in congressional stock, a lifetime ban on becoming a lobbyist, and support for limiting service in Congress to 12 years.
“The issue is political careers. Congress was never intended to be a lifelong job,” said Stelson, who also said she would limit her terms. “It’s setting an example.”
In addition to term limits, Stelson suggested that an upper age limit of 80 should be introduced for members of Congress.
“Today we have 24 members of Congress who are 80 and 90 years vintage. I will say that it is bad and it does not have to be this way. The Constitution prohibits people who are too newborn from serving in federal offices. They would serve 25 years in the chamber. There are brilliant 24, 23, 22-year-olds, but it is not allowed and we should also look at the other side. We should change the Constitution to add age limits so that we can get modern ideas and fresh blood in Congress.”
She also expressed support for amending the constitution to overturn it Citizens Uniteda controversial decision that overturned century-old campaign finance restrictions and allowed corporations and other outside groups to spend unlimited money on elections.
“When corporations and the wealthy are allowed to spend freely, all of us, all Pennsylvanians, lose our voice,” she said. “We also need to strengthen the Federal Election Commission to actually enforce campaign finance laws.”
Stelson then directed her remarks at Perry, her potential opponent in November.
“Congress must cut its benefits. Public office is not a luxury service. It is a public service,” she said. “Our congressman, Scott Perry, is part of the problem. He hasn’t reformed the way we do business in Washington. He initially said he was in favor of term limits, but before he calmed down, it wasn’t for himself. He’s now a seven-term congressman. He hasn’t banned members of Congress from insider trading, trading or stock trading since he was 14, and many of them get rich off of insider trading. He literally doesn’t listen to us.”
“He showed what he thinks about us, taxpayers, by refusing to hold the office of city mayor since 2019 because he is a coward. He doesn’t want to listen to the people who pay his salary and doesn’t want to tell us why he can’t achieve what we keep asking him for.
“I’m running to break up this club because this seat doesn’t belong to the insiders. It belongs to us, the people of Central Pennsylvania.”
Stelson evaded the question of whether she would debate the Dauphin County commissioner Justin Douglas ahead of the May 19 Democratic primary, saying she “left a job I really liked to take on Scott Perry and I’m looking forward to debating him.”
She said she supports a stronger border but disagrees with ICE and its methods in neighborhoods.
“What distinguishes our democracy from others is that we have due procedures for moving in with our neighbors,” Stelson said. “Remember, the idea was that we would make your neighborhood safer. We are going to catch these illegal criminals, and they are even worse. We have never seen anything like this. I have a real problem with the way they are behaving.”
Stelson also called for the full disclosure of Epstein’s records “to expose those who supported (Jeffrey) Epstein. I support a constitutional amendment to limit abuses of the pardon power so that it cannot be used to protect people with access to confidential information, especially influential people.”
“I am not a career politician. I have spent my career listening and asking difficult questions. I have asked difficult questions of Democrats and Republicans. No party has ever controlled what I report, and it will be the same when I am in Congress. I am not afraid to expose and call out corruption, and I promise I will continue to do so when elected.”
