Paige Cognetti, the Democratic mayor of Scranton, Pa., is staking out a pro-Israel platform as she seeks to unseat freshman Rep. Rob Bresnahan (R-PA) in a northeast Pennsylvania swing district, emphasizing her support for continued military aid to the Jewish state in the wake of its war against Hamas in Gaza.<\/p>\n
In a recent interview with Jewish Insider, Cognetti, who is favored to win the Democratic nomination in Pennsylvania\u2019s 8th Congressional District, said \u201cthe Israel question,\u201d as she called it, is \u201cvery simple\u201d for her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI vehemently support Israel\u2019s right to defend itself,\u201d she explained, \u201cand would take extremely seriously Congress\u2019 role in ensuring they have the military aid that they need to defend themselves in a really dangerous neighborhood.\u201d<\/p>\n
To underscore her point, Cognetti, who was sworn into her third term as Scranton\u2019s mayor earlier this month, touted a local munitions plant<\/a> that she said continues to produce \u201cthe shells that we use for our own defense, but also that we ship to our allies, like Ukraine and Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re very proud of that,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s really important to us in northeastern Pennsylvania that we defend ourselves, defend our military personnel at home and abroad. We\u2019re very, very specific and deliberate about how we celebrate our veterans, and we feel the same way about supporting our allies.\u201d<\/p>\n Even as some Democratic candidates have turned away from embracing such positions amid growing chilliness toward Israel within the party, Cognetti, for her part, said she did not feel compelled to join their ranks. \u201cI understand that there has been a lot of rhetoric in the last couple of years \u2014 and a lot of folks that feel one way or the other,\u201d she observed.<\/p>\n \u201cBut there has never been a question, to me, about what the U.S.\u2019 role in supporting Israel should be,\u201d she said, adding that she \u201cwill continue to support Israel as a member of Congress.\u201d<\/p>\n In addition to calling for reauthorization of the current 10-year memorandum of understanding between Israel and the United States that is set to expire in 2028, Cognetti also stressed her support for ensuring humanitarian aid \u201cgets to the people who need it\u201d and backed a \u201cdiplomatic, two-state solution\u201d to the conflict, which she acknowledged would be a \u201ccomplicated and hard-fought\u201d effort.<\/p>\n In her primary campaign to challenge Bresnahan<\/a>, a first-term incumbent endorsed by AIPAC, Cognetti, 45, is seen by Democratic Party officials as well-positioned to win back the seat held by former Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-PA), who fell last cycle after six consecutive terms in one of two upsets<\/a> in the state that helped Republicans maintain their increasingly narrow House majority.<\/p>\n Now, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is eyeing the district<\/a> as one of four possible pickup opportunities in the state, while targeting Bresnahan, 35, as \u201cthe poster-child of Washington corruption\u201d due to scrutiny<\/a> over his multiple stock trades<\/a> as a congressman, despite a campaign vow to ban the practice among elected officials.<\/p>\n Speaking with JI last week, Cognetti reiterated those accusations, saying Bresnahan was \u201cclearly profiting off of his votes,\u201d and boasting of her own record \u201cdelivering results and putting an end to the corrupt machine politics that we\u2019re far too familiar with here in northeastern Pennsylvania.\u201d<\/p>\n Bresnahan\u2019s campaign, for its part, has dismissed<\/a> Cognetti as a \u201cfar-left extremist\u201d who is in favor of open borders and defunding the police. But he may struggle to land those hits as Cognetti casts herself in a moderate light, particularly on sensitive issues relating to Israel and rising antisemitism on the left and right.<\/p>\n Cognetti, who launched her bid last September, has since raised more than $1.1 million, garnering over $640,000 in donations last quarter, her campaign recently announced. Cognetti is widely expected to prevail in the May primary, where she is facing Francis McHale, a retired state official. She has also reportedly claimed support<\/a> from Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a moderate pro-Israel Democrat.<\/p>\n Larry Ceisler, a public affairs executive based in Pennsylvania who is supporting Cognetti\u2019s House bid, called the mayor a \u201ctop-tier candidate\u201d with a \u201cgreat profile\u201d for the swing district. \u201cAt one time, I thought Matt Cartwright was a unique candidate to hold that seat, but Paige has really come on over the last several months,\u201d he told JI, noting that she \u201cwill have the resources she needs to win.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe fact is Matt Cartwright lost because he was hampered at the top of the ticket,\u201d Ceisler added. \u201cPaige will have the opposite as Josh Shapiro has proven to have coattails and Paige is positioned to take advantage of them.\u201d<\/p>\n Cognetti, the first woman mayor of Scranton, was elected in 2019 when she ran as an independent and defeated a crowded field in what was then viewed as a rebuke<\/a> of the local Democratic machine.\u00a0<\/p>\n During her tenure, Cognetti has spoken up<\/a> in support of Israel<\/a> after Hamas\u2019 Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks and sought to<\/a> raise awareness<\/a> about the rise of antisemitism<\/a> on both sides of the aisle. \u201cThere is some really, really dangerous rhetoric, and we need to call that out,\u201d she said, characterizing anti-Jewish prejudice as antithetical to \u201ccore American values.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOf course, here in Pennsylvania, we have a fresh and really horrific example of antisemitism with the arson attack on Gov. Shapiro\u2019s home and his family just last year,\u201d she told JI. If elected, she added, she hopes to be \u201cpart of a coalition that raises the issue of antisemitism and passes any legislation necessary to make sure\u201d the subject \u201cremains in the forefront of people\u2019s minds.\u201d<\/p>\n Cognetti, who has never visited Israel, said she had signed up for a trip that was canceled in the wake of the Oct. 7 attacks but is \u201clooking forward to getting there at some point.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n As she mounts her campaign, Cognetti said she is building \u201ca broad coalition across the district\u201d and describes forming \u201csolid relationships\u201d with Jewish community leaders as well as productive talks with \u201cdifferent groups that are focused on Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n Democratic Majority for Israel\u2019s political arm, which has not announced an endorsement in the race, \u201chas had positive conversations with\u201d Cognetti and is \u201ckeeping a close eye\u201d on the primary, a source familiar with the matter told JI.<\/p>\n Despite internal divisions over Israel now roiling the Democratic Party, Cognetti argued that \u201csome people have let themselves kind of get away from that simple answer, which is, Israel is surrounded by people who do not believe they should exist.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe United States,\u201d she vowed, \u201chas been and will continue to be its most staunch ally.\u201d<\/p>\n