Republican Congressman Scott Perry, who drew international attention after alleging that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) had funded Boko Haram and other terrorist organisations, has lost his bid for re-election in Pennsylvania. Perry, who represented Pennsylvania’s 10th Congressional District in the US House of Representatives, was defeated by Democratic challenger Janelle Stelson, a former television news anchor, in the November 3, 2026, midterm elections.
According to results reported by the Associated Press and compiled by Ballotpedia, Stelson secured 56.5 per cent of the vote, or 150,213 votes, against Perry’s 43.5 per cent, representing 115,537 votes. The Associated Press called the race for Stelson on Tuesday night, handing the Democrats a seat in a district that President Donald Trump had won by five percentage points in the 2024 presidential election.
Perry’s defeat came nearly two years after he narrowly edged out Stelson in their first contest in November 2024. On that occasion, he secured 50.5 per cent of the vote against her 49.3 per cent, a margin of just over one percentage point.
A Campaign Defined by Trump Ties and Election Disputes
Perry’s close association with Trump became a central issue in the campaign, with Stelson portraying the Republican lawmaker as an ally of a president whose popularity had weakened in the district. According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, a poll conducted by the newspaper, The New York Times and Siena College in October found that 56 per cent of voters in the district disapproved of Trump’s performance, while 43 per cent approved.
Stelson also reportedly highlighted Perry’s role in efforts to challenge the outcome of the 2020 presidential election, when Trump lost to Joe Biden. The US House Select Committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol documented Perry’s involvement in efforts to install then-Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark as acting attorney general. According to the committee’s final report, Perry worked with Clark, Trump and former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to get Clark elevated so that he could reverse the Justice Department’s findings on election fraud and help overturn the election result. The report also documented Perry’s communications with Meadows as Trump and his allies sought to remain in power after the election.
During the 2026 campaign, Stelson repeatedly described Perry as an election denier. The Inquirer reported that some voters cited his role in the post-election efforts as a reason for opposing him. One voter, David Koppenhoffer, told the newspaper that Perry had tried to overturn the government and later sought a presidential pardon.
Economic Concerns Weigh on Voters
Beyond Perry’s political record, several voters were reportedly concerned about the economy and the cost of living under the current administration. Voters in the district identified the economy and cost of living as major issues, with concerns about the prices of groceries, fuel and other everyday necessities shaping the campaign.
Stelson criticised Perry’s support for Trump’s policies, including his vote for the president’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which reduced funding for Medicaid and food assistance while providing tax breaks. Meghan Getz, an elementary school teacher who voted for Stelson, told the Inquirer that she preferred the Democrat’s positions on Medicaid and food assistance. Other voters, however, supported Perry’s alignment with Trump, particularly his position on tariffs and efforts to revive American manufacturing.
The USAID Allegation That Drew Global Attention
Perry attracted international attention in February 2025 when he alleged that USAID, the American government’s foreign assistance agency, had funded Boko Haram, the Islamic State and other terrorist organisations. He made the allegation during the inaugural hearing of the US Congress Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency (DOGE) on February 13, 2025.
During a presentation titled “The War on Waste: Stamping Out the Scourge of Improper Payments and Fraud,” Perry questioned how American taxpayers’ money was being spent by USAID. He alleged that the agency’s funding, including cash shipments to Islamic schools, had supported terrorist organisations and training camps. In a video that went viral, Perry asked, “Who gets some of that money? Does that name ring a bell to anybody in the room? Because your money, your money, $697 million annually, plus the shipments of cash funds in Madrasas, ISIS, Al-Qaeda, Boko Haram, ISIS Khorasan, and terrorist training camps. That’s what it’s funding.”
However, Perry did not present evidence linking USAID to Boko Haram or the other terrorist organisations. He also claimed that USAID spent $136 million to build 120 schools in Pakistan, but there was no evidence that the schools were ever constructed.
The allegation prompted reactions in Nigeria, including calls by senators representing parts of the country affected by insurgency for security chiefs to explain whether the claims had any basis. The US Ambassador to Nigeria at the time, Richard Mills, subsequently rejected the allegation, saying there was no evidence that USAID funding had been diverted to Boko Haram or any other terrorist organisation. Mills said the US had strict procedures to prevent its assistance from reaching terrorist groups and would investigate any evidence of diversion in collaboration with Nigerian authorities.
Perry was also asked by Nigerian human rights lawyer Emmanuel Ogebe to provide evidence or retract the allegation. In a response dated March 26, 2025, reported by Premium Times, Perry did not address the specific claim that USAID funded Boko Haram. Instead, he defended efforts by the Department of Government Efficiency to investigate alleged waste and irregularities in US government spending.
What Perry’s Defeat Means
Perry’s loss adds another chapter to a political career that became closely intertwined with Trump’s broader movement and its contested aftermath. His allegations about USAID and Boko Haram made him a controversial figure in Nigeria, where the claims were met with demands for evidence and official denials from US diplomatic representatives. In the end, however, it was the domestic political landscape in his Pennsylvania district — shaped by concerns over the economy, the cost of living and his record on election disputes — that determined his fate at the ballot box.
Stelson’s victory gives Democrats a seat in a district that had leaned toward Trump in 2024, a result that reflects shifting voter priorities in the region. For Perry, the defeat closes a tenure marked by his staunch alliance with the former president and his willingness to advance unsubstantiated claims on the national stage.
