District: PA-08
Cook Political Ranking: Toss Up
Performance Voter Index: R+4
Paige Cognetti is running for Congress in Pennsylvania’s 8th congressional district. She is the current mayor of Scranton, a position she has held since 2020. She is the first woman to be mayor of Scranton.

Pennsylvania’s 8th Congressional District encompasses the northeast part of the state, including Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, and East Stroudsburg. Ahead of the 2022 race, this district barely changed under the redistricting process. Under the old district lines, in 2020, President Trump won the district by 5 points; however, after redistricting, former President Trump won this district in 2024 by 8 points under the new lines. This seat is currently held by first-term Rep. Rob Bresnahan. In 2024, the race for Pennsylvania’s 8th saw nearly $19.5 million in outside spending, with then-Democratic incumbent Matt Cartwright raising $8.5 million and then-Republican challenger Bresnahan raising $3.7 million. This cycle, Cognetti has been included in the DCCC’s Red to Blue program and is challenging Rep. Bresnahan.