Paige Cognetti, a Democrat who has served as mayor of Scranton since 2020, is her party's nominee for Pennsylvania's 8th congressional district in 2026 against Republican incumbent Rob Bresnahan.
2026 Races & Market Forecast
Live TruthIndex™ and prediction market consensus for races contested by Paige Cognetti.
- Born
- August 27, 1980
- Birthplace
- Eugene, Oregon
- Education
- University of Oregon (Bachelor of Arts in English literature and Romance languages)
Harvard Business School (Master of Business Administration)
Biography & Campaign Analysis
Background
Paige Cognetti was born on August 27, 1980, in Eugene, Oregon. She graduated summa cum laude from the University of Oregon with a Bachelor of Arts in English literature and Romance languages and later earned a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School. After graduating, she worked as an English teacher in Japan through the JET Programme. She is married to Ryan Cognetti and has two children.
Career
Cognetti worked as a fundraiser for the 2008 presidential campaigns of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama and served as an advisor at the U.S. Department of the Treasury during Obama's first term. She was appointed to the Scranton School Board in 2017 and resigned in December 2018 to become a special assistant to Pennsylvania's state auditor, Eugene DePasquale.
In 2019 Cognetti ran as an independent in the special election to finish the term of Scranton mayor Bill Courtright, who had pleaded guilty to corruption charges, and won with 36% of the vote, becoming the first woman to serve as the city's mayor.
She won a full term as a Democrat in 2021, defeating her Republican opponent 72.5% to 23.4%. During her tenure Scranton completed its exit from Pennsylvania's Act 47 financial distress program and improved its bond rating.
In 2024 President Joe Biden appointed her to the U.S. Trade Representative's Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations.
2026 race
Paige Cognetti announced her candidacy for Pennsylvania's 8th congressional district on September 2, 2025, aiming to unseat Republican incumbent Rob Bresnahan, who flipped the district in 2024 with 50.8% of the vote.
The district is based in Northeast Pennsylvania and includes all of Lackawanna, Wayne and Pike counties and most of Luzerne and Monroe counties. Cognetti received 58,726 votes in the Democratic primary, where she was unopposed after retired state administrative officer Francis McHale withdrew.
She faces Bresnahan in the general election on November 3, 2026.