U.S. House race · November 3, 2026
U.S. Representative, Pennsylvania District 8
Represents the district in the U.S. House of Representatives, which writes federal laws, approves the federal budget and taxes, and oversees the executive branch.
2-year term. The district covers Northeastern Pennsylvania, including all of Lackawanna, Wayne and Pike counties and most of Luzerne and Monroe counties, with the cities of Scranton, Wilkes-Barre and Hazleton. Republican Rep. Rob Bresnahan is seeking a second term; he and Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti were each unopposed in the May 19, 2026 primaries.
The candidates
Listed alphabetically by last name.
Rob Bresnahan
U.S. Representative, Pennsylvania District 8 (in office since 2025)Rob Bresnahan is a first-term Republican congressman and businessman who ran his family's electrical contracting company, Kuharchik Construction. His campaign focuses on border security, tax cuts, protecting Social Security and Medicare, and support for law enforcement.
Paige Cognetti
Mayor of Scranton (since 2020)Paige Cognetti has been mayor of Scranton since 2020, first elected as an independent in a 2019 special election and reelected as a Democrat in 2021. Her campaign centers on government ethics, including a ban on congressional stock trading and no corporate PAC money, along with living costs, union rights and conditions on data center development.
Compare on the issues
Summaries of each candidate's stated positions. See each profile for sources and details.
| Issue | Rob Bresnahan Republican | Paige Cognetti Democratic |
|---|---|---|
| Energy & Environment | Introduced the Local Control Protection Act in June 2026, which would limit developers' ability to sue to overturn local decisions rejecting data centers. | Says data centers in Northeastern Pennsylvania should be kept away from homes, schools and parks, built on brownfields, disclosed without nondisclosure agreements, denied tax breaks, required to supply their own energy and built with local union labor. |
| Health Care | Introduced the bipartisan INSULIN Act in 2026 to cap out-of-pocket insulin costs at $35 a month, and cosponsored bills to set new rules for prior authorization in Medicare. | Says she would stop health care middlemen from denying care and medications prescribed by doctors, and would repeal parts of the 2025 tax and spending law (H.R. 1). |
| Economy & Jobs | No public position found yet | Supports making it easier to join and start a union, including the PRO Act; supports ending broad tariffs in favor of targeted tariffs to protect manufacturing, and capping credit card swipe fees. |
| Elections & Democracy | No public position found yet | Supports banning stock trading by members of Congress, banning corporate PAC donations to federal campaigns, 18-year term limits for members of Congress and Supreme Court justices, and a lifetime lobbying ban for former members. |
| Government Spending | No public position found yet | Supports a mandatory independent audit of every federal agency and a "No Budget, No Pay" rule withholding members' pay until a budget passes. |
| Immigration | Says the nation must "secure the border, build the wall" and stop the flow of illegal drugs and criminals into communities. | No public position found yet |
| Social Security & Medicare | Says he will not support raising the retirement age or any benefit cuts to Social Security and Medicare. | No public position found yet |
| Taxes | Calls for less federal spending, getting inflation under control and cutting taxes so families keep more of the money they earn. | No public position found yet |