EIGHTH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT, PA — On Friday, February 13, the anti-corruption organization End Citizens United (ECU) announced its endorsement of Paige Cognetti for Pennsylvania’s Eighth Congressional District, weighing in on a race that has already seen significant discussion about the role of money in politics.

Cognetti currently serves as the mayor of Scranton, and is running against first-term Representative Rob Bresnahan (R). Cognetti has made tackling corruption a major pillar of her campaign, specifically targeting Bresnahan’s stock trading while in office.

ECU is a national anti-corruption organization, dedicated to opposing both big money in politics and attempts to block access to the ballot box.

“I’m proud to have the support of End Citizens United because it’s time we root out the culture of corruption in Washington that is hurting Northeastern Pennsylvanians,” said Cognetti. “I first ran for mayor of Scranton to clean up city hall and make our government work as hard as the people it serves. Now I’m running for Congress to take on DC corruption head-on.”

“The people of Northeastern Pennsylvania are tired of politicians like Rob Bresnahan playing the stock market and using their public office for their own benefit,” Cognetti continued. “I’m grateful for ECU’s support and will partner with anyone to fix a broken Washington and put NEPA first.”

“Mayor Paige Cognetti cannot be bought,” said end Citizens United President Tiffany Muller. “She has a strong record of rooting out corruption, demanding accountability and, above all, putting working families first. Her refusal to take corporate PAC money and her support for a ban on congressional stock trading make clear she will never use public office for personal or political gain.”

“Under Congressman Bresnahan’s tenure, NEPA families have suffered tremendously from his corruption,” Muller continued. “From voting to kick working people off of their health insurance to using his position of power to profit off of his votes, he’s quickly become one of the most corrupt members of Congress. We’re proud to stand with Mayor Cognetti and we look forward to helping her win.”

Cognetti has joined ECU’s Unrig Washington campaign, a coalition of 120 congressional candidates committed to specific anti-corruption policy platforms. Unrig Washington candidates support a ban on members of congress trading individual stocks, reject donations from corporate political action committees (PACs) and support efforts to crack down on ‘dark money’ in politics, including through legislation to improve transparency around political donors and to improve the workings of the Federal Election Committee.

Stocks and standards

Bresnahan has repeatedly come under fire while in office for stock trading. Among other instances, Bresnahan sold stock in companies that manage Medicaid enrollees before voting to cut Medicaid, according to NBC; and bought stock in a supplier for data centers while encouraging their construction in Northeast PA, according to Politico.

Bresnahan has said that he has not made any trades himself, leaving those trades to his financial advisors. In a July interview with public radio station WVIA, Bresnahan said he could order his financial advisors to stop trading stock, but asked, “And then do what with [his money]... just leave it all in the accounts and just leave it there and lose money and go broke?”

Bresnahan introduced a piece of legislation to ban stock trading for members of Congress in May 2025, and signed a discharge petition for a separate stock trading ban in December. “Members of Congress should not be allowed to profit off the information they are entrusted with–this is a belief I have held since before taking office, and this belief has not changed,” Bresnahan said while announcing the May legislation. “I have never traded my own stocks, but I want to guarantee accountability to my constituents.” Neither piece of legislation has advanced after being introduced.

In August 2025, ECU filed an ethics complaint against Bresnahan centering on his failure to disclose ownership of a helicopter. According to ECU, if Bresnahan used the helicopter for campaign-related travel, his failure to disclose that travel would be a violation of campaign finance laws.