Democratic candidate for the 10th Congressional District Janelle Stelson brought out a big gun as she held a kickoff canvass in Harrisburg on Saturday – Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.

Stelson is opposing six-term Rep. Scott Perry in the Cumberland, Dauphin and York county district in central Pennsylvania. It has become one of the most closely-watched races not only in the state, but in the nation as well as the former broadcast journalist attempts to oust the former chair of the Republican Freedom Caucus.

“Our governor is a bit of a roadmap and a North Star, because this is a plus-4 Republican district,” said Stelson. “We need to turn the Democratic vote out, but we need to make sure our Republican brothers and sisters know exactly what they are getting as well.

“Josh Shapiro won this district, this +4 red district, by 12 points. He ran against Doug Mastriano (R-Franklin), state lawmaker extreme and Scott Perry light. That shows us we can win.”

Stelson spoke first about why she entered the race after 38 years in television.

“I was live on the set when the Supreme Court handed down the Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade,” she said. “I had to look out into the camera in my best nonpartisan way and tell every woman watching that her rights had been rolled back for years, and depending on your age, your mother had more rights than your daughters, your nieces are going to have. That took a chunk out of my heart that day.

“When we got reaction from our local congressman (Perry) that night, he was basically dancing a jig, because for the past seven years, he has sponsored a nationwide abortion ban with no exceptions, not for rape, not for incest, not for the life of a woman. He called it a monumental victory. And as I said, I lost a chunk of my heart that day, but it sort of laid the foundation for what I’m trying to do.”

Stelson was critical for Perry for his involvement surrounding the events in the Capitol on January 6, 2021.

“Scott Perry was one of the architects of January 6, so deeply involved in the deadly insurrection,” said Stelson. “These were not tourists. He was so deeply involved that the FBI seized his cell phone and investigated him, the same FBI he now oversees on the Intel Committee, which until now, had been nonpartisan and was really proud of that affiliation. Again, somebody’s playing politics. There’s some political favors involved. So he’s now overseeing the FBI that is investigating him … the fox guarding the hen house. The fox already ate all the chickens guarding the henhouse.”

Shapiro pointed out that 1.2 million Pennsylvania have access to healthcare thanks to the Affordable Care Act – or its nickname, Obamacare – and spoke of the differences between the central PA candidates.

“Think about the clear contrast in this race,” he said. “Janelle Stelson not only wants to protect Obamacare, she wants to reduce the cost of prescriptions drugs for our seniors. She wants to make sure that any community you are in has access to great healthcare support. Scott Perry brags about how he has voted to end Obamacare time after time after time, too many to count. You elect Janelle Stelson, you protect healthcare while the other guy is trying to rip it away.”

The governor also called out Perry for his vote against the infrastructure bill and especially how it would impact the I-83 South bridge that connects the Capital Region.

“I stood with your mayor and Secretary Pete (Buttigieg) and others to announce that we finally got the money from President Biden and Vice President Harris to fix that bridge – the number one infrastructure issue in this district. Scott Perry voted against it and bragged about it. Who asks a district for their vote, goes to Washington, and then, literally, when there is a bill before you that will benefit your district, votes no. Who does that?

“Donald Trump and Scott Perry have failed that basic test that we set for our children. They failed that basic decency test, that basic respect test, and all the while they’re working to rip away our fundamental freedoms. This congressional district is key, not just in this commonwealth, but it’s being looked at all across this country, and you have the power to make a difference here. Hear me on this Republicans and independents – Janelle is someone you can trust. She’s the best person to preserve and protect our freedoms and our democracy.”

“The good people of Pennsylvania see through all that extremism, and they want people who are common sense leaders, who are going to go fight for us every single day. Janelle is one of those common sense leaders, and I fully expect this district, after studying the clear contrast in this race, the kind of chaos that Scott Perry and Donald Trump want to bring back to Pennsylvania, that they’ll carefully look at it and said, You know what? We want to go with someone who’s got our back, and they’ll pick Janelle Stelson.”