Scranton Democrat Francis McHale recently decided not to run for Congress after announcing in August plans to enter the Democratic primary for Pennsylvania’s 8th Congressional District seat.

His change of heart means one less potential hurdle for Democratic Scranton Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti to clear in the May primary in her pursuit of a November midterm election matchup with incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Rob Bresnahan. The Trump-endorsed GOP congressman won the 8th District seat in 2024 by narrowly defeating six-term Democratic incumbent U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright.

Cognetti, who announced her congressional bid in September and secured Gov. Josh Shapiro’s endorsement in early February, was the clear favorite for the Democratic nomination before McHale opted not to run. A third Democrat, Eric Bryan Stone, filed in October a statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission but his potential campaign plans remain unclear.

Other challengers could emerge by March 10, the deadline for prospective candidates seeking spots on primary election ballots to file their nomination petitions.

In a boost for her campaign, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee recently added Cognetti to the first round of its Red to Blue program that provides certain candidates with organizational and fundraising support.

McHale, a retired state administrative officer and self-described “pro-life Democrat” opposed to the Trump administration’s sweeping immigration crackdowns, said the DCCC development and Shapiro’s endorsement of Cognetti were both factors in his decision not to run. He’s confident he could beat Bresnahan but doesn’t think he’d make it through a Democratic primary against Cognetti.

“I could spend $100,000 of my own money and not even come close, and so I thought to myself: ‘Why?’” McHale said. “She’s got a very tough road ahead of her and … I don’t want to be viewed as a disrupter. I’m a Democrat. I’m a pro-life Democrat, but I’m a Democrat. I hope she can pull it off and that’s basically it.”

McHale previously ran for Congress in 2000, losing to Pat Casey, son of the late Gov. Robert P. Casey Sr., in the Democratic primary for what was then the 10th Congressional District. He last ran for elected office in 2018, entering a crowded Democratic primary field for the state’s 112th House District seat that now-state Rep. Kyle Mullins of Blakely comfortably won.

Albeit not this cycle, McHale suggested he may seek elected office again.

“I’m not out of this stuff,” he said. “I’m just going to wait for another opportunity.”

The 8th District includes all of Lackawanna, Wayne and Pike counties and parts of Luzerne and Monroe counties. The primary election is May 19.