LINGLESTOWN, Pa. —
House Speaker Mike Johnson returned to central Pennsylvania on Monday to campaign with U.S. Rep. Scott Perry at a “Patriots for Perry” rally in Dauphin County ahead of Election Day.
Speaker of the House speaks in Dauphin County
Johnson said the 10th Congressional District race is among the most important in the country as Democrats try to unseat Republican lawmakers this election cycle.
“Everybody’s watching it. It’s leaning D in the polls. Don’t believe a word of that nonsense, OK?” Johnson said.
A New York Times poll from the end of last week of 404 voters showed Democratic challenger Janelle Stelson and Perry tied at 48%.
“On election night, all the pollsters are wrong. Can I just tell you that right now? They’re absolutely wrong,” Johnson said. “This is not campaign rhetoric.”
Perry urges constituents to vote
Perry told voters about his record in Congress and criticized his opponent.
“Our economy is rocking and rolling. Yeah, we got some problems. We got to deal with an enemy, an enemy that’s declared war on us. You know what my opponent wants to do? My opponent wants to surrender,” Perry said.
Several Republican speakers at the rally said the race between Stelson and Perry could be close and urged voters to turn out.
“All we have to do is make sure that our voice is heard,” Perry said. “And you gently do that by making sure that your ballot is in. And it counted. That’s how we change things in America.”
“I do know that there’s a fight,” said voter Jan Johnston after the rally. “I really feel very confident the Republicans are going to win that we are going to take all of the seats.”
WGAL News 8 reached out to Janelle Stelson’s campaign for a response to claims made at the rally Wednesday night, but has not received an answer yet. However, Pennsylvania Democratic Party Chair Eugene DePasquale said Central Pennsylvanians are “sick and tired” of Perry.
“Mike Johnson is back in Central Pennsylvania to try and save Scott Perry’s desperate, failing campaign,” DePasquale said. “Central Pennsylvanians are going to reject them once and for all.”
Full Pennsylvania Democratic Party Statement
Pennsylvania Democratic Party Chair Eugene DePasquale submitted a statement to WGAL News 8 two hours before the “Patriots for Perry” rally.
“Mike Johnson is back in Central Pennsylvania to try and save Scott Perry’s desperate, flailing campaign because he knows he can always rely on Perry to advance his agenda of chaos, corruption, and higher costs in Washington.”
“Central Pennsylvanians are sick and tired of Perry putting an extreme agenda ahead of his constituents’ needs — and in six days, Central Pennsylvanians are going to reject them once and for all when they send Janelle Stelson to Congress.”