Former Marine and Top Gun fighter pilot Mike O’Brien, a Democrat, is running against incumbent Republican U.S. Representative Scott Perry in Pennsylvania’s 10th congressional district. Perry has held his seat since 2019.
In a new campaign series, O’Brien calls Perry, a retired U.S. Army National Guard brigadier general, an “insurrectionist” and a “Jan 6th ringleader.”
Scott Perry has failed Pennsylvanians. I am the former Marine and Top Gun pilot running to defeat this insurrectionist and flip Pennsylvania’s 10th blue.
We have launched our new ad airing in this district. Check it out, spread the word, and let’s take back this seat! pic.twitter.com/xoyVURygEq
— Mike O’Brien (@MikeOBrienforPA) April 3, 2024
According to the House Select Committee on the January 6 Capitol Attack, Perry (who refused a subpoena from the Committee to testify) played “an important role” in efforts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election after Joe Biden won, by trying to install Donald Trump’s former Justice Department lawyer Jeffrey Clark as acting attorney general.
[Note: Clark is currently undergoing a disciplinary hearing that will determine whether he should face sanctions, which could include disbarment.]
Jon Soltz, chairman of VoteVets, which endorsed O’Brien, wrote: “Mike O’Brien’s life has been about community and service. Contrast that with Scott Perry who betrayed his oath by supporting a violent assault on our Capitol and democracy, and this election is a no brainer.”
As a Marine & TOPGUN Fighter Pilot, I spent 20 years defending democracy overseas.
We need more of that at home, right now.
That’s why I’m running for Congress in #PA10. To defeat Jan 6th ringleader Scott Perry & deliver for hard-working PA families like the one I grew up in. pic.twitter.com/Pq1hMr45bm
— Mike O’Brien (@MikeOBrienforPA) September 6, 2023
Note: In January, Democratic activist Gene Stilp filed a lawsuit seeking to bar Perry from the 2024 ballot via the Insurrection Clause (Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution). The suit was withdrawn after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in March that only Congress can disqualify federal candidates.
The primary election in Pennsylvania will be held April 23.