WITF, York Daily Record, York Dispatch and PennLive | Patriot News brought the 10th Congressional District candidates together so that they can hear straight from the voters at the Rose Lehrman Arts Center in Harrisburg on Monday, March 25, 2024. (Jeremy Long - WITF)
WITF, York Daily Record, York Dispatch and PennLive | Patriot News brought the 10th Congressional District candidates together so that they can hear straight from the voters at the Rose Lehrman Arts Center in Harrisburg on Monday, March 25, 2024. (Jeremy Long - WITF)
Joe Biden’s call to preserve democracy is a core component of his 2024 campaign messaging, and other Democratic candidates are doing the same. In Pennsylvania’s 10th District, where Republican Scott Perry has served as U.S. House representative for 12 years, Democrats running for the chance to oppose him in November see a possible opening.
Voters will choose someone to challenge Perry on Tuesday. Perry is unopposed in the Republican primary.
Each Democratic candidate has identified preserving democracy as a top priority, or even as a motivation, for running against Perry, who supported Donald Trump’s attempt to stay in office after he lost the 2020 election. Perry attempted to place his ally at the head of the Department of Justice in the final weeks of Trump’s time in office as a means to stall the certification of Biden’s victory, has restated falsehoods about how elections are run, and voted against the certification of presidential votes for Biden after the storming of the Capitol.
WITF asked each candidate about their policy goals for preserving and building democracy. To a person, the Democratic candidates said they support elections officials and would trust and respect election results.
Most said they would support major Democratic-backed bills — the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act — to expand election access and reform campaign finance and regulation of state-level election changes.
Passing those bills would require Democrats to win back control of the House and find 60 votes in the Senate. Perry voted against both bills, along with all fellow Republicans in the House, in spring and summer of 2021.
Most candidates said they would prioritize listening to the needs of people in the district, either through listening sessions or through robust constituent services, while criticizing what they described as Perry’s inattention to the district’s needs.
Each candidate’s detailed responses are below, in the order they provided interviews to WITF.
Richard Coplen
If elected to Congress, Coplen promises to support the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.
He also encourages people to get engaged beyond the ballot, noting he’ll help by holding listening sessions whenever Congress is on break.
“I will revitalize our democracy by engaging voters and citizens as never before here at Pa. 10,” Coplen said.
The Carlisle school board member said he trusts the people who run Pennsylvania’s elections and will support any candidate who earns the most votes.
But he adds, anybody who supported the Jan. 6 insurrection should be barred from holding office.
“I believe we saw political violence on the 6th of January 2021, and that was unforgivable,” Coplen said.
Coplen lays the blame for the attack on the U.S. Capitol with former president Donald Trump and Perry, for supporting Trump’s effort to overturn the election results and remain in power.
John Broadhurst
Broadhurst said political extremism is driven by pronounced economic inequality, 30-plus years of “failed military interventions,” and a lack of accountability – political, corporate, and moral.
“We have to address the causes of extremism in the United States, and if we don’t, we’ll simply be dealing with it for the next 50 to 100 years,” Broadhurst said.
To end unrelenting partisanship, Broadhurst said he would pursue institutional reforms as a congressman.
He offers up a number of ideas from limiting the influence of money in politics to ending gerrymandering, regulating election information on social media, codifying voting rights, and using a more active Department of Justice to punish states that limit voting access.
“The problem is that many, many Americans, I think maybe the majority actually, feel there is very little correlation between their vote and policies that are adopted,” Broadhurst said. “And the reason for that is because of money.”
The entrepreneur and business consultant also advocates for limiting the power of the Supreme Court, which he said he believes is not a co-equal branch of government, and eliminating the filibuster in the Senate.
Blake Lynch
A former director of community relations with Harrisburg police and a former WITF executive, Lynch said he will do two things to preserve democracy — uphold the rule of law and build community connections.
“I would support legislation that strengthens the ability for the FBI and also the DEA, also the IRS to go after those who aren’t paying their fair share, who aren’t upholding the rule of law, who are poisoning our communities with opioids and selling illegal firearms to others,” Lynch said.
Lynch said he would also support two voting rights bills — the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.
Lynch calls himself a moderate and said he would vote for policies constituents of the 10th district want, rather than pursue his own partisan policies.
If elected, Lynch said he would support passing the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.
Mike O’Brien
The 20-year Marine veteran, now retired, said he would support legislation to end gerrymandering, expand voting access and limit corporate contributions to campaigns, should he be elected to Congress.
“I think number one is ending partisan gerrymandering, and that’s something that I think that we should do at the federal level,” O’Brien said.
He also said he would also support increasing access to the ballot. He specifically identified the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, though he mentioned some parts of the For the People Act.
“Specifically, making election day a national holiday to enable people to physically go to the ballot for one, and then, especially with same-day registration, I think that’s absolutely a possibility we need to explore,” O’Brien said.
He said he would also seek legislation to curtail corporate spending in campaigns.
Should he win the primary, O’Brien said he will campaign on issues of democracy in terms of freedom.
“The freedom from having to live paycheck to paycheck, the freedom to feel safe in communities and schools, the freedom to make decisions about your own body and exercise the rights of abortion, having the government stay out of that decision, and then political freedom is — here in Pennsylvania — not having our votes thrown out based on a web of disinformation,” O’Brien said.
Janelle Stelson
Stelson said democracy has been damaged in recent years, including by Perry’s actions in support of Trump’s efforts to hold on to power after he lost the 2020 election.
To restore that trust and ensure voting access, she said she supports the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.
“John Lewis, you know, just a wonderful civil rights icon, and a lot of things that he cared about are the same things that I care about,” Stelson said. “I think historically, there have been certain segments of society, certainly African Americans for a long time, that have felt disenfranchised.”
The former TV reporter and news anchor said she backs making Election Day a national holiday and passing a constitutional amendment to set 12-year term limits for members of the House.
Stelson said she opposes photo ID as a requirement to vote, citing the disproportionate impact on Black people and older Americans.
“For me this is not about being pro-Democratic or pro-Republican, it’s basically about making it easier for everyone to vote. I would say I’m pro-democracy,” Stelson said. “And that for me is about restoring people’s confidence in the election process, in their government.”
Shamaine Daniels
The Harrisburg city council member said laws like the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act are needed to expand voting rights, but that’s only the beginning of democratic engagement.
She said elected officials should also engage with their constituents.
“Voting is one aspect of democracy. Accountability is the second part, and accountability happens through those engagements,” Daniels said.
Daniels, who lost to Perry two years ago, said voter turnout and civic participation are powerful drivers for a strong democracy.
By talking to public officials, Daniels said voters can hold them accountable between elections.
“People complain a lot about how money corrupts the democratic process, but the antidote to money is civic engagement,” Daniels said.
She also wants to expand voting access and supports the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.
Even with the current laws, Daniels said Democratic candidates can support democracy by doing a better job of turning out their base to vote.
Daniels said voter turnout is too low – noting Democratic candidates would be in a better position to push their pro-democracy bona fides if they convinced more people to head to the polls.
Scott Perry
Perry’s campaign manager, Matt Beynon with Barbender Cox, did not respond to seven emails and two calls over three weeks to respond to this story or to statements by the Democratic candidates. WITF contacted Perry’s legislative staff, who referred questions to Beynon, and said twice they would ping him to respond.
Beynon did provide a statement for a similar article written by the Washington Post, stating the campaign is not concerned about political attacks targeting Perry’s actions surrounding the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, “because the voters of south-central Pennsylvania know he is fighting for them each and every day.”
A note of disclosure: Blake Lynch is a former vice president at WITF, though he was not involved in any journalism decisions. To avoid a potential conflict of interest, the section of this story regarding Lynch was edited by someone at our sister newsroom LNP who did not work with Lynch.
A collection of interviews, photos, and music videos, featuring local musicians who have stopped by the WITF performance studio to share a little discussion and sound. Produced by WITF’s Joe Ulrich.
