Wednesday, October 21, 2026 Vol. I · No. 22 · Late Edition Print size
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The Wire
On tape: Asked if hundreds of FBI agents in Georgia produced a single indictment, Kash Patel says: "Not if it was sealed." On tape: Schiff asks Kash Patel point blank: were Trump-case agents purged from the FBI? Trump's women's health order creates an NIH division but sets no dollar amount Medicaid cuts dominate Senate debates as Republicans defend their 2025 law Trump rallies for Darline Graham as South Carolina Senate race tightens On tape: Talarico says Ken Paxton will show up anywhere but a Texas debate stage On tape: Jack Smith: Trump suggested a witness, General Mark Milley, should be put to death On tape: Asked if hundreds of FBI agents in Georgia produced a single indictment, Kash Patel says: "Not if it was sealed." On tape: Schiff asks Kash Patel point blank: were Trump-case agents purged from the FBI? Trump's women's health order creates an NIH division but sets no dollar amount Medicaid cuts dominate Senate debates as Republicans defend their 2025 law Trump rallies for Darline Graham as South Carolina Senate race tightens On tape: Talarico says Ken Paxton will show up anywhere but a Texas debate stage On tape: Jack Smith: Trump suggested a witness, General Mark Milley, should be put to death
Paige Cognetti U.S. House — Pennsylvania's 8th District Toss-up First run
PA-8nominee

U.S. House — Pennsylvania's 8th District · First run

Paige Cognetti

Paige Cognetti has been mayor of Scranton since 2020 and is running for Congress on an anti-corruption platform. She was unopposed in the May 19 Democratic primary and faces first-term Republican Rep. Rob Bresnahan Jr. in northeastern Pennsylvania.

On the ballot against Rob Bresnahan (R)

Why it matters: Republican Rob Bresnahan Jr. unseated longtime Democratic Rep. Matt Cartwright here in 2024 by less than two points, and this Trump-won district is one of four competitive Pennsylvania seats that could help decide control of the House, where Democrats need a net gain of three seats.

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The race at a glance

Race ratingToss-upCook Political Report, Oct 16 source
Latest poll Cognetti 47% 45% Bresnahan 8% undecided or other Lake Research Partners, Jun 18-23, 2026, 400 LV. source
Money raised (through Sep 30) Cognetti$7,095,684 Bresnahan$6,197,786 $950,343 cash on hand. source

In Paige's own words

You should try to do all of them in parallel, but truly, though, like the true health care reforms that this country needs, I think it’s unlikely that we get there until we really push out the corporate PAC money
Paige Cognetti, in an interview with CQ Roll Call, on her reform agenda, Oct 13 source
I’m running for Congress to take on corruption and make Washington work as hard as we do.
Paige Cognetti, on the priorities page of her campaign website source

Where Paige stands

Congressional stock trading
She says she owns no individual stocks, will not trade them if elected, and will push to ban members of Congress from trading stocks. source
Money in politics
She takes no corporate PAC money and says she would propose a law banning corporate PAC donations to federal campaigns. source
Term limits
She backs a constitutional amendment setting 18-year term limits for House members, senators and Supreme Court justices. source
Health care and costs
She wants to stop health care middlemen from denying care and medicines that doctors prescribe, and to fight for paid family leave and affordable child care. source
Data centers
She says data center developers must stay away from homes, schools and parks, build on brownfields, get no tax breaks, supply their own energy and use local union labor. source

The record

  • Served on the Scranton School Board in 2017 and as a special assistant to the Pennsylvania Auditor General in 2018.
  • Won a 2019 special election for Scranton mayor as an independent, becoming the first woman elected mayor of the city.
  • Won a full term as mayor as a Democrat in 2021 with over 71% of the vote.
ConfidentialThe GOP File

The file on Rob Bresnahan

  • In May 2025 Bresnahan voted for the House version of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which cut taxes and reduced spending on food stamps and Medicaid; he said it would protect those programs for people who need them. source
  • Bresnahan backed a discharge petition to restore collective bargaining rights for federal workers, and the American Federation of Government Employees then endorsed him. source
  • Democrats have criticized stock trades Bresnahan made after taking office; his office says an outside financial institution managed his investments, and he says he voted to ban congressional stock trading. source

Endorsed by

Gov. Josh ShapiroSen. Mark KellyPennsylvania AFL-CIOEMILY's ListLeague of Conservation Voters Action Fund

Paige Cognetti. Photo: US Department of Labor, CC BY 2.0

Profile sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16

Race data checked Wednesday, October 21, 2026. Quotes on this page were matched word for word against their sources.