The Associated Press declared Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti the winner in Pennsylvania's 8th Congressional District at 10:41 p.m. EST on Tuesday, Nov. 3, according to AP results published via the San Francisco Chronicle.

Cognetti, a Democrat, defeated Republican incumbent Rep. Rob Bresnahan, flipping a seat Republicans won in 2024. She campaigned as an independent-minded Democrat and corruption-fighting city leader, according to the AP report.

The district includes Stroudsburg, East Stroudsburg, Stroud Township, Smithfield Township, Middle Smithfield Township, Mount Pocono, Tobyhanna and Coolbaugh Township.

Unofficial results

As of about 10 p.m., Cognetti had tallied 116,426 votes to Bresnahan's 85,053, the Scranton Times-Tribune reported. Cognetti claimed a majority of mail-in votes, 53,789 to 20,438. Bresnahan held a modest lead in Election Day votes, 64,615 to 62,637, according to unofficial results. Vote counting was still underway.

$28 million in ads

Candidates and outside groups had purchased about $28 million in advertising as of Oct. 12, according to a tracking report by AdImpact, as reported by WVIA. That ranked ninth among 21 House races the Cook Political Report considers tossups.

Cognetti and groups supporting her had spent about $10.3 million and reserved about $5 million more, totaling roughly $15.3 million. Bresnahan and groups backing him had spent about $9.3 million and reserved about $3.4 million, totaling roughly $12.7 million. Those numbers have likely risen since Oct. 12, WVIA reported, because both campaigns reported greater expenses in Oct. 14 filings.

Closing arguments

Both candidates told WNEP's Newswatch 16 that affordability is a top concern pushing voters to the polls.

Bresnahan said he plans to keep fighting for federal funding for the region. "To be able to deliver over $110 million to Northeastern Pennsylvania, solve thousands of constituency requests and be able to advocate has been really humbling," Bresnahan said in the WNEP interview.

Cognetti has centered her campaign on corruption, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer's debate coverage. She pointed to her decision to run for Scranton mayor in 2019 after the previous mayor was indicted. "I was not going to stand by and raise our family in a place where corruption is okay," Cognetti told Newswatch 16.

Stock trading and the debate

The Oct. 29 debate, the only one scheduled before Election Day, saw both candidates stress independence from their parties, the Inquirer reported. Bresnahan criticized President Donald Trump's deal to purchase Russian oil and said the war in Iran "absolutely needs to end." Cognetti backed voter ID and GOP efforts to eliminate taxes on tips and overtime.

Bresnahan has drawn criticism over stock trades he made while in office, WHYY reported. He made almost 650 individual stock trades during 2025, according to Spotlight PA. Critics allege the trades were related to bills he voted on. Bresnahan said a financial advisor made those transactions and has since stopped trading, Spotlight PA reported. He also sponsored legislation to limit stock trading by members of Congress.

Both candidates favor banning congressional stock trading, according to Spotlight PA.

Polls and fundraising

An Inquirer/New York Times/Siena University poll found Cognetti leading 51% to 46%, a gap within the margin of error. Cook's Political Report and Sabato's Crystal Ball labeled the race "lean Democrat," WHYY reported.

Cognetti had raised about $7.5 million as of Oct. 14, according to Federal Election Commission records cited by WVIA. Bresnahan had raised about $6.5 million. Bresnahan had more cash remaining: about $733,000 compared with Cognetti's $244,000.

Bresnahan won the seat in 2024 by defeating five-term Democratic Rep. Matt Cartwright, 51% to 49%. Trump carried the district by 8.5 percentage points that year.