“My public service career has been dedicated to rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse in government. I’m ready to take that fight to the place that needs it most: a Washington controlled by special interests and self-serving politicians who put the people last. Nobody works harder than the people of NEPA (Northeastern PA), and they deserve a government that works as hard as they do.”
(Cognetti Campaign Website)

​“I’m running for Congress because people here deserve a lot better than a rich kid disrespecting our hard work and proud legacy. We can stand tall against Washington that takes advantage of working people and make it work for us. People deserve a future they can believe in and a government that works as hard as they do, always.” 
(Penn Capital Star, 9/2/25)

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To hear directly from candidate Cognetti, watch this short video:

MUST-SEE: Democrat goes VIRAL for the BEST reason

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BACKGROUND AND EXPERIENCE

Paige Gebhardt Cognetti was born in Oregon and is married to Ryan Cognetti. The couple has two children. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Oregon and has an MBA from Harvard University. Cognetti worked with the U.S. Treasury and was appointed to the Scranton School Board before she become a special assistant to the Pennsylvania State Auditor. 

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When the mayor of Scranton resigned in 2019 after pleading guilty to federal charges, Cognetti ran as an independent with the slogan “Paige against the Machine” and won. She immediately turned her attention to alleviating the city’s financial problems. Since then Scranton has been able to discard the designation of “financially distressed.”

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Signal accomplishments during Cognetti’s tenure include:

• Improving Scranton’s credit from junk bond to investment status and achieving a budget surplus

• Streamlining the permitting process to facilitate the building of 1,000 new housing units, issuing 10,000 building permits, and opening 600 shops and eateries

• Investing more than $4 million in police technology and training, hiring five new officers, and purchasing new vehicles for police and fire departments

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Cognetti is challenging Republican incumbent Rob Bresnahan because he “broke the trust” of his constituents. Despite his support for a ban on congressional stock trading, Bresnahan has engaged in more than 600 stock transactions.

 

ON THE ISSUES

Committed to bringing reform, transparency, and accountability to Northeast Pennsylvania, Cognetti has three priorities guiding her decisions and actions:

• Government should work as hard as the people it serves

• Fight for families so they can get ahead

• Northeastern Pennsylvania builds: build it here

 

POLITICS IN PENNSYLVANIA

Pennsylvania is generally viewed as a highly competitive swing state. Democrat Josh Shapiro is Governor and Democrats control the state House of Representatives, but Republicans hold the majority in the state Senate.

 

In Congress, seven of the state’s 17 House seats are held by Democrats and the Senate delegation is split between Democrats and Republicans.

 

PA-08 is in the northeastern corner of Pennsylvania and is a collection of suburban and rural districts clustered around Scranton and Wilkes-Barre. The district has been trending red and went for Trump in ‘24 by eight points. Rob Bresnahan beat three-term Democrat Matt Cartwright in a tight race in ‘24.

 

The race is currently rated Lean R by both the Cook and Sabato rating services indicating the Republican has a narrow edge, but the race is competitive. In the Democrat’s favor, popular governor Josh Shapiro, who won PA 08 by 10 points in 2022, is running for re-election. Despite Trump’s recent endorsement, Bresnahan has received negative publicity concerning questionable stock investment activities.

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