Democratic Scranton Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti outraised Republican U.S. Rep. Rob Bresnahan in April and has about the same amount of cash on hand as the incumbent she hopes to unseat, recent campaign finance filings show.
The preprimary filings in the 8th Congressional District race between the first-term incumbent Bresnahan, a Luzerne County businessman, and challenger Cognetti, Scranton’s mayor since 2020, cover a period from the beginning of April through April 29. They follow first-quarter reports showing Cognetti also outraised her presumptive GOP opponent in the first three months of 2026.
U.S. Rep. Rob Bresnahan looks on during a press conference at Moses Taylor Hospital in Scranton Thursday, February 26, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
During the period roughly spanning the month of April, Cognetti’s Paige for PA committee reported total receipts, essentially money raised, of $494,705.11. That bumped her total this election cycle to about $3.1 million, Cognetti having launched her congressional campaign in September.
Bresnahan’s Rob for PA committee reported $314,809.44 in total receipts between April 1 and April 29, raising his election-cycle total to more than $4.6 million. But he’s also spent considerably more this cycle, reporting more than $2.4 million in total disbursements to Cognetti’s $852,243.10.
Cognetti spent less in April, reporting $169,386.86 in disbursements to Bresnahan’s $255,649.20.
Scranton Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti has conversation before the State of the City Address in the Kane Forum at University of Scranton’s Leahy Hall in Scranton Wednesday, April 22, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Both campaigns reported having very similar amounts of cash on hand at the close of the most-recent reporting period: $2.27 million for Bresnahan and $2.25 million for Cognetti.
Spending is expected to escalate as the race ramps up after next week’s primary election, where neither Bresnahan nor Cognetti faces a challenger from their own party.
Bresnahan is uncontested for the Republican nomination as he seeks reelection to the seat he narrowly won in 2024 by defeating longtime Democratic incumbent U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright. Cognetti is uncontested for the Democratic nomination as she seeks to wrest the seat from Bresnahan and the GOP in November’s midterm elections that will determine which party controls the House of Representatives for the final two years of the second Trump administration.
Toss-up race
The local race remains likely to be one of the nation’s most competitive.
As of Friday, a consensus forecast published by the nonpartisan website 270toWin, which aggregates professional election projections, listed the 8th District as a toss-up. The consensus outlook is based on the current ratings of three different election forecasters: Cook Political Report, Inside Elections and Sabato’s Crystal Ball.
Democrats maintain a slight voter-registration advantage in the 8th District, which includes all of Lackawanna, Wayne and Pike and parts of Luzerne and Monroe counties. They outnumber their Republican counterparts there 220,394 to 208,022, with another 87,768 potential voters not registered to either major party, according to state data.
Lackawanna County is a Democratic stronghold in the district, with 23,977 more registered Democrats than Republicans. But Republicans collectively outnumber Democrats by 22,431 in more-rural Wayne and Pike counties, nearly offsetting the Democratic advantage in Lackawanna.
The Democratic registration advantage over Republicans in the Luzerne County portion of the district is modest at just 3,421: 76,283 Democrats to 72,862 Republicans. Democrats in the Monroe County part of the district outnumber Republicans there 45,651 to 38,246, a difference of 7,405.
The last day to register to vote in the primary was May 4, while the last day for registered voters to request a mail-in or civilian absentee ballot for the primary is Tuesday. The primary itself is May 19.