Republican U.S. Rep. Rob Bresnahan’s campaign committee ended 2025 with nearly $630,500 more cash on hand than Democratic Scranton Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti as the two prepare for a potential midterm election matchup later this year.
Both reported raising and spending similar amounts of money in the final quarter of last year, the first full quarter after Cognetti announced her congressional run.
Bresnahan, a Luzerne County businessman and first-term GOP incumbent, seeks reelection after winning his 8th Congressional District seat in 2024 by narrowly defeating Democratic former U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright, who had held the seat for six terms.
U.S. Rep. Rob Bresnahan speaks before the Farmers for Free Trade round table discussion at Eckels Farm in Clarks Summit on Monday, Nov. 03, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Cognetti, reelected last year to the office of Scranton mayor she’s held since 2020, seeks the Democratic nomination for the 8th District seat in the May primary with an ultimate goal of unseating Bresnahan in November.
They are the only two candidates for the seat to file campaign finance reports, per a review of filings available via the Federal Election Commission’s website.
Democrat Francis McHale of Scranton also seeks the Democratic nomination in the 8th District, but has yet to file with the FEC. He said he will after he files his nomination petitions in March to appear on the May primary ballot, noting he’s likely to self-finance his primary campaign.
Democrat Eric Bryan Stone filed in October a statement of candidacy with the FEC, but hasn’t reported any campaign finances.
The money
Both Bresnahan’s and Cognetti’s respective committees — Rob for PA and Paige for PA — filed late last month financial reports covering a period from the beginning of October through the end of December. It was the fourth quarterly filing of 2025 for Bresnahan and the second for Cognetti, who launched her congressional campaign in early September.
The filings include total receipts and total disbursements, essentially money raised and money spent. Total receipts reflect contributions and other forms of support received, while total disbursements account for purchases and payments. More granular information on individual and committee contributions, and on individual contributors, is available at fec.gov.
Scranton Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti speaks during her inaugaration ceremony on the steps of City Hall in Scranton Monday, January 5, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Cognetti’s campaign got off to a strong start after she announced her candidacy in early September, raising just over $500,000 in less than a month, but Bresnahan has benefited from a longer fundraising window.
He raised $675,972.23 in the fourth quarter of last year and almost $3.1 million total this election cycle through the end of December, his most recent campaign finance filing shows. Regarding disbursements, Bresnahan reported spending almost $1.75 million this cycle, including $311,865.29 in the last three months of 2025.
Cognetti raised slightly less in the fourth quarter, $646,848.25, and spent slightly less, $283,136.73. She has reported raising almost $1.15 million this election cycle through the end of 2025 and spending $340,428.76.
In terms of cash on hand, Bresnahan reported almost $1.44 million at the close of the last reporting period compared to Cognetti’s $806,678.49.
The figures will continue to fluctuate as donors fill campaign coffers and the campaigns spend on ads, fundraisers and other expenses as the midterm race heats up in the district that includes all of Lackawanna, Wayne and Pike and parts of Luzerne and Monroe counties.
The race
Asked about her financial totals, Congetti’s campaign sent a statement that again took aim at Bresnahan’s controversial stock trading while in office. She has also blasted the first-term congressman for supporting President Donald Trump’s signature One Big Beautiful Bill Act given its substantial changes and cuts to Medicaid.
“I’m grateful for the outpouring of support we’ve received for our campaign to take on corruption in Washington and build a government that works as hard as the people it’s supposed to serve,” Cognetti said in the statement. “It wasn’t my plan to run for Congress, but I couldn’t sit by while Congressman Rob Bresnahan used his office to trade hundreds of stocks and vote to hurt our community. With the support of hardworking people all across our community and the endorsement of leaders like Governor Josh Shapiro, we are building a campaign that puts NEPA first.”
Bresnahan’s campaign criticized last year Cognetti’s decision to launch her “vanity campaign” for Congress amid her mayoral reelection campaign, with a campaign spokesman calling her a “far-left extremist who has backed a radical agenda.” His campaign did not immediately respond to an email about its financial figures.
Cognetti picked up Shapiro’s endorsement last week, months after Trump endorsed Bresnahan’s reelection bid in an early November post on his Truth Social platform.
“Mayor Paige Cognetti has been a fighter for Scranton — taking on corruption, making government faster and more efficient, and bringing people together to get stuff done for hard working families,” Shapiro said in a recent endorsement announcement.
Trump called Bresnahan a “highly successful businessman,” noting he’s “working hard to Create Jobs, Cut Taxes, Stop Wasteful Spending, and Unleash the American Dream.”
Focus and forecasts
University of Scranton Political Science Professor Jean Harris, Ph.D., expects the 8th District race to be expensive, not unlike Bresnahan’s matchup with Cartwright two years ago. It’s also likely to capture a lot of attention both in and outside of the state, which could drive an influx of cash to both campaigns in the run-up to November, she said.
“I think that there’s a lot of issues of deep concern to people in the state that the national government is engaged in, and having a run for governor here too between Shapiro and (state Treasurer Stacy) Garrity, that’s going to bring in more attention as well,” Harris said, noting Shapiro’s place in the national spotlight. “I think there’s a lot of attention that will be brought to the state, which means money is going to be coming in and going out.”
She also expects both candidates to receive considerable financial support from outside the district and state as Republicans work to hold and Democrats strive to recapture majority control of the House of Representatives.
As of late last week, the election analysis and forecasting service Sabato’s Crystal Ball, a project of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, rated the 8th District seat as leaning Republican.
The nonpartisan Cook Political Report’s House Race Ratings, which assess the competitiveness of House races, also listed Bresnahan’s race as leaning Republican as of Friday.
Democrats maintained a modest voter registration advantage in the 8th District as of Monday, with state data showing 219,852 registered Democrats there and 207,768 registered Republicans.