Wallace confident in fight for Meuser's congress seat

Wallace is set to go head-to-head against Congressman Dan Meuser in November after winning the Democratic primary unopposed. She faces several challenges in Pennsylvania's heavily conservative 9th Congressional District, but in remarks she delivered at the fundraising event, she expressed confidence in her ability to unseat Meuser after his four terms in office, calling him "a hilariously underrated villain who deserves to be fired."

Wallace has made several stops in Williamsport during her campaign. Before securing the primary, she held a late March fundraiser at the Pajama Factory. More recently, she attended a Peace Walk in the city this month. 

City councilman's full support

A frequent collaborator in Wallace's Williamsport stops, City Councilman Jonah Milliken, delivered opening remarks at the event, sharing a story about a Meuser mishap he said he witnessed firsthand.

Milliken said that at a Memorial Day event at Veterans Park in the city's West End, held in the rain under a tent, he and other attendees — including elderly veterans — stayed after the ceremony to help fold and stack roughly 200 chairs. Meuser, Milliken said, was seated nearby in an ejection seat from a fighter jet on display at the park while a staffer photographed him smiling, as others around him cleared away chairs. Milliken said he regrets not having taken a photo of the moment himself.

Milliken also advertised the reprisal of a Peace Walk in Williamsport, this time directly addressing the Lycoming County District Attorney's Office and their narcotics officer's recent alleged harassment of a Black teen that made national headlines, with the walk's path ending at the courthouse.

Milliken said Wallace and her team had traveled from Pottsville — the candidate's hometown — to attend the initial walk, which he said drew about 50 people from the community, to meet with the teen's family and listen to residents' concerns.

Introducing Wallace, Milliken cited her work in the U.S. House, Senate, State Department and, most recently, the White House, along with what he said was a lesser-known credential: a past job as a lifeguard.

Wallace on the campaign

To those gathered, Wallace laid out what she described as three reasons she believes she can win the race this November.

The first, she said, centers on Meuser himself. She told attendees Meuser does not live within the 9th Congressional District and cannot vote for himself in the race. She also said his stock portfolio has outperformed those of Warren Buffett and Bill Gates — a claim she made before — and that he voted to cut health insurance for 30,000 residents of the district, which she said would strain rural hospitals, including one in Muncy.

Wallace also said Meuser has never held a town hall and said she expects at least one debate between the two candidates in October.

Her second reason, she said, is that voters across party lines are frustrated with the cost of living and want to see Congress take action.

Her third reason, she said, is grassroots momentum. Wallace told the crowd her campaign has raised just under $750,000 so far.

She also cited an internal campaign poll conducted in June — before any campaign ad spending — that she said showed Meuser polling at 53%, down from what she said was a 70% win in 2024, while she polled at 55% among those surveyed. Wallace's campaign has not released full polling data or identified the pollster.

Data centers, Gregg Township transmission line

In a question-and-answer session following her remarks, Wallace was asked about her attendance at a Pennsylvania Farm Bureau meeting in Gregg Township, where farmers voiced opposition to a proposed 230kV transmission line that would run through Gregg and Washington townships to serve a PNK Group data center at Great Stream Commons in Allenwood.

Wallace said she was invited to the meeting by a farmer and came away with a strengthened opposition to a national permitting framework for data center infrastructure, arguing it would strip local communities of control over such projects. She said the proposed line would require farmers to perpetually lose out on profits due to the strips of land required to be used for the line. 

She said the bottom line for her is that local communities, not private companies benefiting from data center development, should not bear the cost of new infrastructure. She said she supports federal legislation that would guarantee local communities access to information and a voice in these decisions, rather than a permitting process that overrides local input.

Health care

Asked to expand on her health care claims, Wallace pointed to the recent federal reconciliation legislation — often called the "Big Beautiful Bill" — along with the expiration of Affordable Care Act subsidies, saying the combined effect would strip health coverage from tens of thousands of district residents over the coming year.

She pointed to the temporary 2022 closure of Tyler Memorial Hospital's emergency room in Wyoming County as an example of what she described as a broader pattern of financial strain on rural hospitals. 

Wallace also said four counties within the district lack maternal health services, a figure she found alarming as she wants the area to be places people want to and are able to raise a family in.

Running as a Democrat in a conservative district

Asked how she is building support in a district that leans heavily Republican, Wallace said she frequently asks voters whether they vote by party or "for the person," saying most tell her they vote for the candidate rather than the party label.

She described herself as "a different kind of Democrat" running on local issues, and said she believes the national Democratic Party has "given up" on this part of the state.