Retired Army Officer Rick Coplen issued a statement Wednesday morning offering his full support to his primary election opponent, Shamaine Daniels, after she won the Democratic nomination to the 10th Congressional District.
Her victory means Daniels, a Harrisburg city council member, will take on incumbent Republican Scott Perry in the general election in November.
“This morning I called Shamaine to congratulate her and offer my assistance for her winning General Election campaign, including a financial donation to her campaign and other assistance,” Coplen said in his release.
He went on to thank his supporters, and to extoll the virtues of the nation’s voting system:
“While serving as part of the multinational peacekeeping forces in Bosnia in 1996, a Bosnian personally thanked me and other Americans for helping to supervise the logistics and security of their first national election after their war. He asserted that the “U.S. Elections system is the “gold standard” for the world. He was right.
“Our American Electoral System remains the “global gold standard,” despite the baseless claims and efforts of traitors amongst us to continue to attempt to undermine it. We must work together to continue to have the most free, fair, and accurate elections in the world.”
Coplen has previously criticized Perry, calling him “unfit” to serve in light of Perry’s support for trying to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Perry voted not to certify the state’s election results. The U.S. House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot at the nation’s Capitol last week issued a subpoena in an attempt to force Perry to answer questions about his role in the efforts to overturn the election.
Daniels, who defeated Coplen in Tuesday’s primary, is an attorney who has served on Harrisburg City Council since 2013.
The 10th Congressional district covers all of Dauphin and parts of York and Cumberland counties.
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