In a new poll from Franklin & Marshall College of Pennsylvania’s 10th Congressional district, Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) — the incumbent — ended up just one percentage point ahead of his anticipated Democratic challenger in the general election, a candidate named Janelle Stelson.
Perry finished with 45 percent of the support, while Stelson had 44 percent as 11 percent said they were undecided.
The rate at which respondents expressed support for Perry dropped substantially after the recent conviction of former President Donald Trump at a New York City criminal trial related to pre-2016 election hush money. Prior to the jury unveiling their verdict, Perry was getting 49 percent of the support, while afterwards, his share dropped to 39 percent among the registered voters still being polled.
Perry is known as an ally to Trump, having even jumped onboard after the 2020 presidential election as forces in the ex-president’s circles tried challenging its outcome, meaning Joe Biden’s victory at both the national level and in key, individual states like Pennsylvania. Perry’s state was one of those around which a challenge to its electoral votes was brought forward in the Congressional proceedings to certify the 2020 presidential election outcome, and Perry voted against Congressionally backing the slate.
Pennsylvania is also one of the states where Trump allies assembled sham slates of electoral votes backing the then-outgoing president despite Biden winning the jurisdictions.
The Franklin & Marshall College poll found that 26 percent of registered voter respondents didn’t actually know Perry opposed Pennsylvania’s 2020 electoral votes — though that does still leave a large share that apparently was aware of Perry’s acts. Speaker of the House Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) was in league with that same effort. Perry’s phone, meanwhile, was seized at one point as part of federal investigations of post-2020 election efforts against its outcome.
