Scott Perry’s Democratic opponent Janelle Stelson thinks she can get support from Republicans. She used to be one herself.

Former news anchor Janelle Stelson, the Democratic nominee for central Pennsylvania’s 10th Congressional District, said the primary did exactly what it was supposed to do.

After winning a six-way Democratic primary last week, she will face U.S. Rep. Scott Perry, the Republican incumbent and the former leader of the Freedom Caucus who tried to throw out Pennsylvania’s electoral votes in the 2020 election.

“What it did, first of all, shows the desire to unseat Scott Perry, that so many people are willing to do such a hard thing,” she said of the crowded primary field. “And it also makes you stronger, harder, faster, which is absolutely what is required to take on Scott Perry.”

Although Stelson had a strong primary win over her five opponents, it’s hard to unseat an incumbent member of Congress. Perry is seeking a seventh term representing the district, where 44.4% of voters are Republicans and 38.5% are Democrats. Stelson herself was a Republican until last year, when she changed her party before launching her campaign. While she faced attacks about her past party affiliation during the Democratic primary race, she could use it to attract bipartisan support in November.

Stelson, 63, is counting in part on name recognition in the district to give her a boost. She left her job at Lancaster-based WGAL to launch her campaign last fall and lives in Lancaster, where she is a ”single mom” to three rescue cats and also takes care of strays. She lives outside of the 10th Congressional District, which includes Dauphin County and parts of York and Cumberland Counties. She said she has previously lived in various parts of the district and would move back if she won in November.

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While she was on her way to an interview outside Alvaro Bread and Pastry Shoppe in Harrisburg the day after winning the primary, some locals waved to her and said they’d voted for her, she said. For district residents who watch broadcast news, they’ve been familiar with Stelson for decades.

Mike O’Brien, who finished second in the Democratic primary, couldn’t keep up with her familiarity in the district. He’d outspent her by more than $186,000 as of April 3, but she got almost twice as many votes as he did. O’Brien said he’s now supporting Stelson.

Each primary candidate emphasized the importance of beating Perry, but Stelson focused on it. So she isn’t shifting her strategy dramatically going into the general election campaign.

“I left the job I really loved as a journalist to take on Scott Perry, to be very clear,” she said.

In a statement, Perry said Stelson has “radical leftist ideologies” and will support President Joe Biden’s policies, which he said contribute to the high cost of living, border crisis, crime, and “foreign policy failures.” In contrast, he said, he supports a secure border, powerful military, and fiscal responsibility.

“Our neighbors know me, they know I fight tirelessly for them, and they know I do what I said I would — which is fiercely defend their freedoms, their financial well-being, and their safety and security,” Perry said.

But Stelson said she has gotten support from across the aisle, and plans to reach out to more Republicans and independents now that the primary is over.

“I’ve been the trusted, nonpartisan voice,” she said. “If I haven’t been sitting in your living room doing a story on you in all that time, I’ve been in your living room on your TV, chances are.”

Even her ex-husband, whom she called a “hardcore Republican” donated to her campaign, she said.

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“It’s hard to go up against an entrenched incumbent,” she said. “But again, having so many Republicans and independents reach out to me the way they have been over the past several months lets me know this is possible.”

Stelson calls the central Pennsylvania congressional district where she’s running a “thinking district.” That’s because Republicans outnumber Democrats, but voted to elect Josh Shapiro for governor in 2022 over far-right state Sen. Doug Mastriano.

As a former broadcaster, Stelson has soundbites on hand. For example, she talks about being on air when Roe v. Wade was overturned, and “had to look out into the camera in my best nonpartisan way … and tell every woman watching that her rights had been rolled back 50 years.” She said Perry was “basically dancing a jig.”

Perry describes himself as “strongly pro-life” and calls for defunding Planned Parenthood on his campaign website. Although he is a longtime sponsor of the Life at Conception Act — which would serve as a national abortion ban by guaranteeing a “right to life” starting at fertilization — he recently backed former President Donald Trump’s latest stance that it should be up to the states.

Stelson is also drawing attention to Perry’s voting record in Congress.

She argued that Perry is out of step with even other Republicans, and a spokesperson for her campaign pointed out how he was the only member of the Pennsylvania congressional delegation to sponsor a bill to repeal the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, which gave Medicare the ability to negotiate prescription drug prices.

And Stelson is hard at work raising money. According to her campaign, she raised more than $100,000 within 24 hours of winning the primary. She raised the same amount within 48 hours of her primary campaign launch. She’ll also have support from a Democratic Super PAC targeting the district.

As of early April, before the primary, Perry had about $321,500 more cash on hand than Stelson. But her campaign said that’s less than any Republican incumbent with a competitive general election ahead. Perry has also spent more money than he’s raised during this election cycle, including paying nearly $137,000 since Stelson’s October campaign launch to the firm representing him in legal matters related to efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Perry’s campaign also has more than $65,000 in debts.