(The Center Square) \u2013 Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti, a Democrat, narrowly outraised Republican U.S. Rep. Rob Bresnahan in the first three months of the year in what is shaping up to be an expensive race for Pennsylvania\u2019s 8th Congressional District.<\/p>\n
Cognetti raised $1.46 million<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0from the beginning of January until the end of March, while\u00a0Bresnahan raised $1.2 million<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0during that same time period, according to campaign finance reports released on April 15.<\/p>\n This is the first quarter that Cognetti has outraised Bresnahan since\u00a0she formally joined the race<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0for the 8th District.<\/p>\n Cognetti\u2019s Q1 haul is the second highest among candidates running for the U.S. House in Pennsylvania, only trailing fellow Democratic challenger\u00a0Janelle Stelson<\/a><\/strong>, who raised $2.17 million in her bid for the state\u2019s 10th Congressional District.<\/p>\n Bresnahan\u2019s campaign, raising $1.2 million for the first three months of the year, is the highest among Republicans and incumbents running for office in Pennsylvania, but third overall behind Stelson and Cognetti.<\/p>\n Cognetti, the mayor of northeast Pennsylvania\u2019s largest city, has slightly outraised the freshman congressman since she declared her entrance into the race. Since\u00a0announcing her candidacy<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0in early September, Cognetti has raised $2.6 million, while Bresnahan\u2019s campaign has raised $2.48 million from the beginning of July 2025 to the end of March 2026.<\/p>\n However, Bresnahan, who won the seat in 2024 over Democratic incumbent U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright, has raised $4.3 million to date in the election cycle, the third-highest among U.S. House candidates in Pennsylvania. U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-1st District, leads the way with $5.49 million raised in the total 2026 election cycle, followed by Stelson, who has raised $4.37 million since she announced her bid for Congress in July.<\/p>\n Both candidates added to their campaign cash on hand over the last three months, although the advantage that Bresnahan held entering the year has also started to narrow.<\/p>\n At the beginning of 2026,\u00a0Bresnahan\u2019s campaign $1.43 million<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0on hand, while Cognetti\u2019s campaign carried just over $805,000 into the new year.<\/p>\n Bresnahan\u2019s campaign began April with $2.2 million on hand, as Cognetti\u2019s campaign carried $1.92 million into the month.<\/p>\n Cartwright, who was the incumbent in 2024, had a cash-on-hand advantage over Bresnahan at this point in the previous cycle. In April 2024,\u00a0Cartwright had $3.15 million on hand<\/a><\/strong>, while\u00a0Bresnahan\u2019s campaign had just under $835,000<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n Bresnahan and Cognetti\u2019s campaign spent a similar amount of money over the last three months. From the beginning of January to the end of March, Bresnahan\u2019s campaign spent just under $430,000. Cognetti\u2019s campaign spent just over $340,000 during that same time period.<\/p>\n Although the primary election is still one month away, the matchup between Bresnahan and Cognetti appears to be all but set for the general election since they are the\u00a0only candidates who have filed to run<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0for the seat in 2026.<\/p>\n The race for the 8th District is already bringing some high-profile elected officials to the district.<\/p>\n U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican,\u00a0visited the district earlier this month<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0to raise campaign money for Bresnahan\u2019s bid for a second term. U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, an Arizona Democrat, appeared\u00a0with Cognetti on Saturday<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0for an \u201canti-corruption town hall\u201d event hosted by \u201cEnd Citizens United<\/a><\/strong>,\u201d a political action committee that typically backs Democrats and wants to see \u201cmeaningful campaign finance reform.\u201d<\/p>\n