Paige Cognetti (D) currently serves as the mayor of Scranton. She originally ran as an independent against a Democratic establishment, adopting the slogan, “Paige Against the Machine.”

Cognetti highlights reforms she brought to the city during her time in office, including work to balance the city’s books, battle corruption and cut red tape. 

“I’m running for Congress in PA-08 to take on a corrupt Washington that has left our community behind. Politicians keep getting richer and our costs keep rising,” reads a statement on her campaign website. “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.”

Cognetti has targeted Bresnahan for his record on health care (Bresnahan made statements prior to the vote on the One Big Beautiful Bill that he would not vote to gut Medicaid), and for his stock trading. 

In an early 2026 visit to Honesdale, Cognetti told gathered constituents there is a need to get a check and balance back in Washington, and that flipping Congress is “absolutely imperative.” 

“As mayor of Scranton, I hear stories every single day, already, about somebody who’s dropped their health coverage, somebody whose kid has an IEP and no longer has a teacher’s aide with them, and is suffering… We need the stories to be able to show folks and make sure that they get out to vote, that they understand what’s at stake, that they understand the pain that these votes have caused, that these administration policies have caused,” she said.