Janelle Stelson

Janelle Stelson is a former television journalist who spent 26 years at WGAL-TV in central Pennsylvania, including as a news anchor. She was the Democratic nominee in 2024, when she lost to Scott Perry by about one percentage point, and is running again in 2026. She has focused her campaign on affordability, health care, and measures to address government corruption such as term limits and a congressional stock-trading ban.[1][2][3][4]

Stelson was born in Fairbanks, Alaska, and grew up in the Seattle area of Washington. She earned a B.A. in politics and government from the University of Puget Sound.[1] Her first job, before her broadcast career, was writing speeches for the Egyptian embassy in Washington, D.C.[1]

She worked in television news in central Pennsylvania for more than 30 years, according to her campaign website, including 26 years as a news anchor, reporter and weather anchor at WGAL-TV.[1][4]

In 2024 Stelson ran for Congress as the Democratic nominee in the 10th District and lost to Perry by 5,133 votes. Perry received 50.6%, the narrowest margin he had faced since his first election in 2012. She was living just outside the district at the time.[2][3] She announced on July 14, 2025, that she would run again, and said she then lived in Cumberland County, within the district. She won the May 19, 2026 Democratic primary with 67.4% of the vote over Justin Douglas.[1][2] Her campaign website says she supports term limits, including for herself, and a ban on members of Congress trading stocks.[4]

Researched from the cited sources on 2026-10-21.