HARRISBURG — Ahead of the Nov. 3 election, Pennsylvania voters have identified the economy as a top issue, driven by concerns about the cost of living, unemployment, and utility prices.
It’s a key focus in the 10th Congressional District race, a rematch between Republican incumbent Scott Perry, who’s held the seat since 2013, and Democratic candidate Janelle Stelson, a former news anchor. It’s also one of three toss-up U.S. House races in Pennsylvania identified by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report.
The purple district covers the entirety of Dauphin County, including Harrisburg, in addition to portions of Cumberland and York Counties.
Members of Congress, elected for two-year terms, vote on legislation that affects the economy, including changes to federal taxes and budgets, as well as government spending. They can also secure federal funding and advocate for the district they represent by shaping and voting for legislation.
While Perry and Stelson differ on tariffs and the ongoing war in Iran, which have contributed to increases in the price of groceries and gas, they both support tax breaks and healthcare reform. The economic issue they align on most is employment, favoring pathways for skilled and technical trades.
Below, we break down the two major party candidates’ positions on some of the key economic issues ahead of the Nov. 3 election: tax policies, affordability, and jobs. You can learn more about their positions during an ABC27 debate scheduled for 8 p.m., Oct. 14.
Tax policies
During his tenure, Perry, a former small business owner, has supported cutting taxes. His current campaign platform includes lowering taxes on families and small businesses.
He voted for 2017’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which lowered most individual income tax rates, reduced the top corporate income tax rate from 35% to 21%, doubled the standard deduction, and expanded the Child Tax Credit.
He also voted for President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” signed into law on July 4, 2025, which permanently extended most of the individual and business tax cuts from the TCJA that were set to expire at the end of that year. It also created federal income tax deductions for tips, overtime pay, and taxpayers 65 and older through 2028.
Stelson has criticized his votes, arguing the cuts benefit corporations and wealthy earners instead of workers while increasing the national deficit. On her campaign website, she says she’ll “support tax breaks for the hard working middle class, not billionaires.” And in campaign materials reviewed by Spotlight PA, she pledges to support permanently not taxing tips and overtime pay.
While the OBBA is expected to boost the economy in the short term, researchers at Brookings, a nonpartisan think tank, said in a preliminary analysis released in March that it will raise federal deficits by between $3.7 and $5.1 trillion over the next decade.
And the “distributional consequences are stark,” according to the report, with the largest benefits going to high-income households, and many of the spending cuts falling on low-income and immigrant families.
The Trump administration’s tariffs, a tax tacked on to imported goods, have been an ongoing point of disagreement between the campaigns.
Stelson has said she’ll work to repeal Trump’s tariffs and advocate for a more stable foreign policy. Recently, Perry said Americans “need to be patient” for the promised benefits of Trump’s tariff policies to play out while prices are high, citing long-term relief.
Perry is also a co-sponsor of the FairTax Act of 2025, introduced by U.S. Rep. Earl L. Carter (R., Ga.). If enacted, the law would eliminate the IRS and replace several federal taxes, including income, payroll, estate, and gift, with a sales tax beginning in 2027. So far, the legislation has only been introduced and has not yet seen a vote.
Stelson argues the legislation would force the middle class to pay more for gas and groceries.
Affordability
Healthcare, housing, and gas prices are key affordability issues as the cost of living continues to squeeze voters’ budgets.
Perry voted against extending Affordable Care Act subsidies for three years, the only vulnerable Republican in the Pennsylvania delegation to oppose the measure. He argues the ACA “spectacularly” failed to lower healthcare costs and expand options.
Since those tax credits expired at the end of 2025, nearly 202,000 enrollees on PENNIE, the state health insurance exchange, have dropped their coverage.
Stelson has called it a “crisis and a failure of leadership,” and said that making sure healthcare is affordable and accessible is one of her top priorities, including by making ACA tax credits permanent.
Perry’s campaign website shows he supports healthcare reforms “to reduce costs, improve the quality of care and increase access to coverage,” including expanding health savings accounts and allowing individuals to “purchase healthcare across state lines.”
In May, Perry also voted against the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act alongside a dozen other U.S. House Republicans.
The bipartisan federal housing law, which went into effect in July, aims to make housing more affordable by banning investors who own at least 350 houses from buying more, among other provisions.
A proponent of limiting federal reach, Perry defended his vote by arguing the federal government has “meddled in the housing market for decades,” which he says has led to less affordability for buyers. He also said he voted against it because of language in the legislation about the potential creation of a central bank digital currency, which he vehemently opposes.
Stelson, who criticized Perry’s vote, has offered a six-point affordable housing plan that includes building on the law by making home construction faster, easier, and cheaper; expanding small-dollar home loans; and voting to repeal tariffs she argues raise prices on lumber and drywall.
Perry’s campaign website does not include housing as an issue listed on his platform.
Pennsylvanians are also feeling pressure at the pump, as oil and gas prices have risen nationwide since the start of the Iran War in late February.
The average price of a gallon of gas as of Sept. 14 in Pennsylvania is $4.50, according to AAA, higher than the $4.32 national average. This time last year, the average price of a gallon of gas was $3.25 in Harrisburg.
Both Perry and Stelson have pointed to the war, stretching into its seventh month, as a catalyst for the rising cost of gas. Stelson has said the war needs to “go away,” and that she’d vote to end the conflict. Perry, who supports the war, has said he hopes a resolution will soon be reached.
Jobs
Both Perry and Stelson have signaled their support for expanding and reforming job training outside of higher education.
Stelson, who has described the commonwealth’s minimum wage as “outrageous,” has proposed concentrating more on vocational and technical training for mechanics, plumbers, electricians, woodworkers, and tradespeople in general in schools. Perry has focused more on skilled manufacturing, saying thousands of these jobs remain unfilled in central Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania’s minimum wage has been $7.25 since the federal minimum went up in 2009, and has remained stagnant even as neighboring states’ have increased. Last year, the Democratic-controlled state House voted to raise minimum wage to $15 an hour in 20 of its counties, and to $12 in the rest. Since then, HB 2189 has sat in the Republican-controlled Senate, awaiting a vote.
Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate dropped to 3.9% in July, according to the state Department of Labor & Industry, lower than the national rate of 4.1%. It’s the first time the commonwealth’s unemployment has been below 4% since October 2024.
However, the department also projects the commonwealth will face a shortage of more than 300,000 skilled trade workers by 2030.