A Nail-Biter in the 8th
Rep. Rob Bresnahan Jr. (R) and Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti (D) are on the 8th District ballot, and it is likely to be tight. Bresnahan won in 2024 by less than two points. The district, which includes all of Lackawanna, Pike and Wayne counties and part of Luzerne County and most of Monroe County, voted for Donald Trump by about eight points that year. Three October polls have Cognetti ahead by 3 to 5 points, but the leads sit inside or near the polls’ margins of error. The Cook Political Report moved the race from Toss Up to Lean Democratic on Oct. 30. Cook’s summary says Bresnahan’s stock trades have dogged him all cycle and given Democrats a line of attack, in a district it calls very much in play. A rating is one analyst’s call, not a result.
The Debate. The two candidates met Oct. 29 in the district’s only scheduled debate, an hour hosted by WVIA. On Iran, Bresnahan said he does not support troops on the ground and that the war needs to end, but he warned against a rushed withdrawal. Cognetti called for diplomacy and said the public has not been told why the country went to war. On data centers, Cognetti said that if projects go through, there should be no nondisclosure agreements and the community must be able to say no. Bresnahan said his bill would give the final say to local communities. Cognetti said the bill has not left committee, and Bresnahan said he is working on co-sponsors. They also took questions on Social Security, housing, immigration, health care, the national debt, Ukraine, gun violence and presidential pardons. If you are doing last-minute research, you can find the whole debate on YouTube. Here’s a hint: if you go to gemini.google.com you can paste in the link and ask it to summarize it for you or even give you a full transcript.
Why it reaches past our corner. Pennsylvania has four closely watched U.S. House races this year, more than any other state, and all four seats are held by Republicans. The House is narrowly divided, so a handful of seats could decide which party controls it. There is no U.S. Senate race in Pennsylvania this year.
Watching tonight. Monroe County’s results page, agencies2.monroecountypa.gov/ElectionResults, shows Monroe’s numbers only. Other counties report the rest of the 8th, so there will be no district total until they do.
