Stelson and Douglas make final push during quiet primary day

• By Katie Knol and Jordan Wilkie

Pennsylvanians are hitting the polls to vote in the primary election. In Cumberland, Dauphin and York counties, many voters are focused on the Democratic primary battle between Janelle Stelson and Justin Douglas.

Poll workers say turnout has been slow but steady throughout the day, which means voters like Sara Zentmeyer will be all the more important in deciding which Democrat will challenge incumbent Republican Scott Perry for Pennsylvania’s 10th District seat in Congress. 

Zentmeyer and her husband voted at the Hershey Public Library. She said the Stelson-Douglas race was one major reason she turned out.

“I think Janelle Stelson probably has better name recognition, and Justin Douglas has made a name for himself recently with the local stuff, so I think I’d like to go with him, but I don’t know if he’ll make it because she has better name recognition,” Zentmeyer said. 

Stelson and Douglas visited polling sites today for their final campaign pushes and to flip voters like Zentmeyer to their side. 

Around noon, Douglas visited a church and polling place in Cumberland County where workers braved the over-90-degree heat to check in voters and provide information. Douglas plans to make 22 polling place stops before polls close at 8 p.m. This personal connection has been a strategy throughout his campaign.

Douglas, a Dauphin County commissioner, has run his campaign with less funding and support from major Democratic politicians than his opponent. He said the dynamics remind him of his commissioner race in 2023.

“We were overlooked, outspent, completely discounted, and ignored, and that’s kind of been this same campaign, and I think people want something different,” Douglas said. “People want someone who says things that other people won’t say, who has a history of showing up for the community.”

At the same time Douglas was at a church in Cumberland County, Stelson and four staff members visited the Solid Rock Missionary Baptist Church polling place in Dauphin. 

In a break between greeting voters at a precinct in Harrisburg, Stelson spoke with the press. Her staff said Stelson wasn’t answering questions during polling place visits, but Stelson decided to talk for a couple minutes before being ushered off to a site with more voter traffic. 

Responding to a question about what appeared throughout the morning to be low turnout, Stelson summed up her campaign message so far — dismiss the primary, pivot to issues, and focus on Perry. 

“I’m not worried about the primary and how it goes,” Stelson said. “I do know that people are talking about affordability, the affordability crisis, healthcare, the accessibility and the cost of healthcare, and also the corruption in Washington. This is what voters have been telling me they care about, and that’s what we’re going to work to try to defeat Scott Perry on in November.”

Stelson is endorsed by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and Pennsylvania’s Democratic heavy hitters, most notably Gov. Josh Shapiro. She has also out-fundraised Douglas 34-to-one and had $3.3 million cash-on-hand ready for the general election, as of April 29 filings with the Federal Election Commission. 

Douglas is running a shoestring campaign and said he plans to end the primary with zero cash on hand. He’s earned endorsements from local grassroots activist groups like One PA which is concerned with money in politics, and from the Asian Pacific Islander Political Alliance, with a significant focus on immigration. 

The importance of voting

Deasia Coleman, 27-years old, says this is her first time voting. 

“All the times I didn’t vote, it would have been really important for me to vote,” she said. “Might want to use it before I lose it.” 

Paula Collins-Carter has been voting for decades, and says she’ll keep making her voice heard. 

“We the people make a difference,” she said. “Many times I’ve voted for a candidate who did not win, but that don’t stop me. I earned this right. It’s my right to vote. And I’m going to keep on voting.” 

With few competitive Republican races in Dauphin County, most voters who talked with WITF were focused on the Democratic primary. Republicans have competitive races in Lancaster and Lebanon counties. 

By tomorrow, voters should know the candidates who will be on the November ballot for the U.S. House of Representatives, governor, lieutenant governor, and state legislature. 

Polls close at 8 p.m. Anyone in line by then is allowed to cast their ballot.

Produced with assistance from the Public Media Journalists Association Editor Corps funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.