Paige Cognetti, the current mayor of Scranton, Pennsylvania, is running for Congress against incumbent Republican Rob Bresnahan. Like the rest of the midterm races, this seat is important and a must-win for Republicans. That's why people are questioning whether or not Cognetti really wants to represent the people of Pennsylvania in Congress, or if she's already on her way to being a D.C. insider.
Just the other day, Cognetti was caught being driven away from a meet and greet event in a car with D.C. plates, which is odd for the Mayor of Scranton, isn't it? It takes about four hours to make the drive from Scranton to the nation's capital, and that's quite the commute.
🚨NEW: Paige Cognetti, who wants to represent Pennsylvanians in Congress, was caught on camera at a meet & greet in PA being whisked away in a car with DC plates.
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) March 3, 2026
She's a swamp creature already! pic.twitter.com/HWWOF3WAh0
A native of Eugene, Oregon, Cognetti has degrees from the University of Oregon and Harvard. She also worked for Hillary Clinton's failed 2008 presidential campaign and was appointed by Obama to the Treasury Department. Cognetti moved to Scranton in 2017 and won the mayor's seat in 2019 special election. She herself admitted in a 2024 interview that "politics" brought her to Scranton. "It’s funny, politics brought me to Scranton. I moved to Washington, DC, in 2005, and ended up coming to Scranton for a political campaign, and then met my husband. It’s a long story until we get here in 2023, but politics did bring me to Scranton, and it can be a real anchor for what Scranton is known for," Cognetti said.
Scranton residents have been unhappy with Cognetti's work as mayor, with a voter writing in a letter to The Times Tribune that Cognetti is a "carpetbagger" who "doesn't reflect the region."
Here's some of what that letter said:
Northeastern Pennsylvania (NEPA) does not need a carpetbagger representing us in Congress. Mayor Paige Cognetti may be running in PA-08, but she is not from here. She was born and raised in Oregon, educated at an Ivy League school, and now presents herself as someone who knows what’s best for Scranton and the surrounding communities. That disconnect matters.
We do things differently in NEPA. Our values are practical, community-focused and rooted in lived experience, not ideological experiments imported from the West Coast. Even many local Democrats here are not far-left socialists, because that brand of politics simply doesn’t reflect who we are.
The results speak for themselves. The progressive, West Coast–style policies Cognetti has brought to Scranton haven’t worked, and there’s no reason to believe they would suddenly work better on a larger scale in PA-08.
In late January, residents of Scranton were unhappy with Cognetti's handling of snowstorm cleanup in the city, noting she'd gone to D.C. for a fundraiser.
SNOW SCANDAL: Furious Scranton, Pennsylvania residents enraged after Democrat Mayor @PaigeGCognetti left the city during a snowstorm for a glitzy D.C. fundraiser
— NRCC (@NRCC) February 5, 2026
Residents & City Council "looking for answers" but “they have not yet received it from Mayor Paige Cognetti’s office” pic.twitter.com/25RNZvKn6y
"The road conditions were really unsafe," said one Scranton resident.
"It's very frustrating," said Les Spindler, who was forced to keep shoveling his sidewalk after crews kept plowing snow onto it. "I'm not a young man anymore. I don't mind doing it once, but if I have to go multiple times, that's a problem."
WBRE28 noted they asked for a post-storm report from Cognetti's office, but hadn't received it at the time of their broadcast.
Cognetti was in D.C. for a "meet and greet" but ended up rushing back after the snowstorm hit Scranton and her absence was noted.
Meanwhile, Rep. Bresnahan is a native of Northeast Pennsylvania and a former heavy highway electrical contractor who reflects the region's working-class history and sensibilities.
We’re getting calls about terrible road conditions across Scranton.
— Rob Bresnahan (@Rob4PA) January 29, 2026
For snow removal concerns, please contact the Mayor’s Office at (570) 348-4101.
Unfortunately, the Mayor is currently racing back from her DC fundraiser that she prioritized over running her city. ❄️<💰 pic.twitter.com/Z5SogYrrwz
Voters deserve to have representatives who understand and represent their districts. With Cognetti's sights set on D.C. and not Pennsylvania, voters deserve to ask and know where Cognetti's priorities lie.
Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
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