A rematch in a swing district Pennsylvania is showcasing how Republican messaging from 2024 is getting a replay, this time from Democratic candidates.
Around 20 House races are toss-ups in November's midterms. This morning, we have a look at the messaging in one of those contests – Pennsylvania's 10th Congressional District. NPR's Tamara Keith reports.
TAMARA KEITH, BYLINE: Listen to this campaign ad.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As narrator) Everything's become too expensive – gas, groceries, even healthcare. Pennsylvania families are struggling.
KEITH: It's from 2024, run in support of Republican Congressman Scott Perry. Now listen to this one that's been airing in his district all summer.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As narrator) Every day prices rise – gas, groceries, electricity bills. We pay more…
KEITH: That was paid for by House Majority Forward, a group working to elect Democrats all over the country, like local news anchor Janelle Stelson, who's challenging Perry, as she did two years ago. A key Republican campaign message in 2024 with an unpopular Democrat in the White House has become the centerpiece of the Democratic pitch two years later. Now it's President Trump whose approval on the economy is deeply underwater. Mike Smith is president of House Majority PAC and House Majority Forward.
MIKE SMITH: The No. 1, 2 and 3 issues on voters' minds is cost of living and affordability.
KEITH: This district has a little bit of everything – urban Harrisburg, rural farm country and plenty of suburbs. In 2024, President Trump won here by five points and the race to represent it in Congress was even closer. Perry, a seven-term congressman, had his closest race ever, beating Stelson by just a percentage point. Now they're meeting again. Ask district voters what their top issue is and there's no hesitation. Gerald Brown (ph) is a retiree living in Harrisburg.
KEITH: At a cute coffee shop in Camp Hill, hairdresser Rusty McAndrew explains what affordability means to him.
RUSTY MCANDREW: I don't go grocery shopping a lot because they're just too expensive. I usually only drive to and from work. I don't take pleasure rides anywhere.
KEITH: So it's no wonder Stelson and the groups backing her are hitting Perry hard on the economy.
NATHAN: Out here, we're just trying to get by, but in D.C., Scott Perry is voting with special interests and making it more expensive for us.
KEITH: The economic message from Republican candidates and the groups backing them is largely centered on the 2025 tax law known as the One Big Beautiful Bill.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Scott Perry is looking out for us. He gave us the largest tax cut in American history.
