Democrats Flip PA-8 House Seat for Paige Cognetti

Democrats secure Pennsylvania’s 8th District with mayor Paige Cognetti’s victory over Rep. Rob Bresnahan.

2 min read

Democrats have flipped Pennsylvania’s 8th Congressional District with mayor Paige Cognetti’s victory over one-term Republican incumbent Rob Bresnahan. Cognetti, the mayor of Scranton, defeated Bresnahan in a race that had been rated a toss-up by multiple forecasters in the final weeks. The seat had previously been flipped from Democrat Matt Cartwright in 2024 by Bresnahan.

Decision Desk HQ projects Paige Cognetti wins the PA US House 8 General Election #DecisionMade : 9:00 PM EST

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Cognetti consistently led in late public polling, with early returns in other GOP-held seats also showing Democratic leads as significant votes remained outstanding as of 9 p.m. EST. In New Jersey’s 2nd District, Democrat Zack Mullock led longtime Republican Rep. Jeff Van Drew 60.7 percent to 38.5 percent with roughly 34 percent of the expected vote reported.

Van Drew, who switched parties after winning as a Democrat in 2018, had been favored by most ratings organizations, though the seat had drawn late Democratic attention and a visit from New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill. In Pennsylvania’s 1st District, Bucks County Commissioner Bob Harvie led moderate Republican incumbent Brian Fitzpatrick 67.2 percent to 32.8 percent with about 23 percent in.

Fitzpatrick has represented the suburban Philadelphia seat since 2017 and has long been viewed as one of the House’s more independent Republicans. Cook Political Report moved the race into its toss-up column in the final days. In the open South Carolina 1st District vacated by Rep. Nancy Mace, Democrat Nancy Lacore, a retired Navy vice admiral, led Republican Jenny Costa Honeycutt 52.9 percent to 45.6 percent with roughly 53 percent of the vote counted.

The seat had been rated lean or likely Republican for much of the cycle before shifting to toss-up status. Democrats need a net gain of only a few seats to flip the chamber, and several of the races showing Democratic leads Tuesday night had been on the DCCC’s target list for months.

Source: The Gateway Pundit