HARRISBURG — Democrat Paige Cognetti has defeated Republican incumbent Rob Bresnahan in Pennsylvania’s 8th Congressional District.
The AP called the race at 10:41 p.m. Tuesday.
Located in the northeast corner of the commonwealth, the purple district covers Lackawanna, Pike, and Wayne Counties, along with parts of Luzerne and Monroe Counties.
A native of Dallas Township, Bresnahan was sworn in to Congress in 2025 after defeating Democratic incumbent Matt Cartwright in the 2024 election. He’s a member of the House Agriculture, Small Business, and Transportation and Infrastructure Committees.
Cognetti is the mayor of Scranton. After the city's then-leader resigned in 2019, Cognetti successfully ran for the position as an independent. Two years later, she ran for reelection as a Democrat.
Cognetti and Bresnahan sparred over data center development during the campaign. The district includes the borough of Archbald, which has a high rate of data center proposals. Cognetti has called for eliminating the sales and use tax exemption afforded to data center developers. Bresnahan introduced the “Local Control Protection Act,” which he says will help protect local communities that don’t want development.
While Bresnahan and Cognettii differ on tariffs and the ongoing war in Iran, which have contributed to increases in gas and grocery prices, they both support tax breaks, healthcare reform, and reining in rising utility prices. Employment is the economic issue they agreed on most, supporting apprenticeships and technical training, as well as pro-union policies.