Could a familiar face from television challenge U.S. Rep. Scott Perry’s bid for a sixth term?

Will U.S. Rep. Scott Perry, the central Pennsylvania Republican who heads the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus, be challenged in 2024 by a very familiar face next year?

Clout hears Janelle Stelson, a news anchor at NBC affiliate WGAL in Lancaster, is considering a run in the Democratic primary for the 10th Congressional District as Perry seeks a sixth term.

Stelson, who has worked for WGAL since 1997 and previously worked for two Harrisburg television stations, did not directly respond when Clout asked whether she was considering a run in the 10th.

“In the past more than three decades that I’ve been a journalist in Central PA, I’ve had quite a few people ask if I would be interested in running for office ... so I’m not surprised you would hear something like that,” Stelson wrote in an email. “And I’m honored folks would mention my name.”

Stelson lives in Lancaster, which is part of the 11th Congressional District, represented by Republican U.S. Rep. Lloyd Smucker. WGAL’s market covers 10 counties, including all of the 10th District, made up of Dauphin County and parts of Cumberland and York Counties.

Members of Congress must be at least 25 years old and a resident of the state where their district is located but are not required to live in the district they represent.

Stelson is certainly familiar with the 10th District and Perry’s record. She moderated debates between Perry and his Democratic challengers that aired on WGAL before the 2018 and 2020 general elections.

Someone used Google Domains in late June to privately register the websites StelsonForCongress.com and JanelleStelson.com.

Rumors about Stelson have been circulating for months.

Rogette Harris, chair of the Dauphin County Democratic Party, said she heard that chatter in the spring but had not heard from Stelson. “It’s been floating around for a while,” she said.

Matt Roan, chair of the Cumberland County Democratic Party, and Chad Baker, chair of the York County Democratic Party, heard the same rumor but also have not heard from Stelson.

“Normally when a candidate is ready to declare or thinking about it, at least, the local parties in the district are contacted,” Baker said.

Shamaine Daniels, a Harrisburg City Council member who challenged Perry in last year’s general election, has declared her bid for a rematch. Rick Coplen, who lost the 2022 Democratic primary to Daniels, has also announced another run.

Daniels and Coplen told Clout they have heard for months that a prominent local media figure might enter the primary but no name had been attached to that rumor.

There are more clouds than clarity surrounding the Latino Town Hall held Wednesday for Philadelphia’s mayoral race.

Republican nominee David Oh and other participants all agree someone organized the event. They can’t say who did that.

Oh and the participants also insist Cherelle Parker, the Democratic nominee, was invited. Who invited her? No one can say.

The event was held on the sidewalk in front of a building on American Street in North Philadelphia because someone refused to open the building after threats were lobbed about the event, Oh said.

Who perpetrated the lockout? Who made the threats?

Oh said he didn’t know.

Parker’s campaign on Monday decried “fake” fliers on social media that suggested she would participate. Her campaign said it “received no formal invitation” to the event and learned about the fliers only when Phillip Fisher, the Republican leader in the 42nd Ward, sent them a copy.

Parker spokesman Aren Platt said campaign staffers made phone calls “to figure out what was happening” but didn’t lean on anyone to cancel the event or lock out Oh.

USALA Media, a Latino outlet listed as a host of the event, has offices in the building where it was scheduled to be held.

Fred Ramirez, a cofounder of USALA Media who gave Parker’s campaign $1,250 last year, told Clout on Thursday that his outlet had nothing to do with the event. He blamed Fisher, who works part time as a technician at USALA Media, for listing the outlet on the flier.

Ramirez also said the building owner locked out the event after learning USLA Media’s name had been falsely attached to it.

Parker sees a clear path to victory in a city where Democratic voters outnumber Republicans 7-1, so she has been stonewalling Oh as he seeks joint appearances and an agreement about debates.

Oh spent about 90 minutes talking to the 30 people who showed up for the event, sitting on plastic folding chairs on the sidewalk as traffic whizzed by. He appeared bemused by the brouhaha.

“It’s kind of heavy-handed for a town hall, don’t you think?” he asked while chuckling about the lockout.

“It looks that way because she has a David Oh poster. I did not have a ‘are you really supporting me’ kind of discussion. She’s in the Different Kind Of Democrat group and carrying a sign.”

— Philadelphia Republican mayoral nominee David Oh, after posting pictures on social media of former State Rep. Movita Johnson-Harrell carrying a “Democrats for David Oh” sign.

Oh said Johnson-Harrell, who resigned from office in 2019 and later pleaded guilty to stealing from her own nonprofit, is part of the group Different Kind of Democrat, which endorsed Oh for mayor in June. She did not respond to a request for comment.

Clout provides often irreverent news and analysis about people, power, and politics.