Emma Mustion
September 22, 2026 · Website
NEW: Paige Cognetti Drops Two New Ads Contrasting Her Record with Rob Bresnahan’s, Highlighting Stakes of the Race
While Rob spends his time in office playing the stock market, Paige will “crack down on price gouging, make the big guys pay their fair share, and fight corruption.”
SCRANTON, PA – Today, Paige Cognetti’s campaign for Congress launched two new ads highlighting the choice in this race between a reformer who will shake up a broken Washington and fight for families and small businesses, or a congressman who has shown he is only interested in serving himself.
In “Sandwich,” Paige shares the story of how she met her husband at his store over 20 years ago. He made her an incredible sandwich, and the rest is history. Paige calls out big corporations jacking up costs and taking advantage of the little guys, while highlighting how she will take action to stand up for middle class families who are getting squeezed.
In “Do,” local voter Sid contrasts Rob Bresnahan’s record of stock trading on his votes that hurt Northeastern Pennsylvanians with Paige’s record of doing “the right thing,” like turning down the city car and a pay raise while balancing the city budget.
Paige Cognetti: Best sandwich in NEPA they said.
So good, I married the guy who made it.
We’re proud of this store and the life we built.
But every day, we see the big corporations take advantage of the little guys.
Chicken? Up 30%.
And Congress keeps trading stocks.
Making that bread for themselves, while the middle class gets squeezed out.
I’m Paige Cognetti and I approve this ad.
As Mayor, I rooted out waste and corruption.
In Congress, I’ll crack down on price gouging, make the big guys pay their fair share, and fight corruption.
No baloney.
Sid: It’s not really what someone says. It’s what they do.
Of the 600 trades Rob Bresnahan made, this one hurt.
One week before he voted to cut health care for folks like me, he traded stocks to benefit himself.
When push came to shove, Rob Bresnahan looked out for his portfolio, not our wallets.
When times got tough, his opponent Paige Cognetti did the right thing.
Gave up the city car, the pay raise, and balanced the budget to help working people.
Paige Cognetti: I’m Paige Cognetti and I approve this message.
ABOUT PAIGE:
Paige Cognetti lives in Scranton with her husband and two daughters. Prior to her tenure as Mayor, Paige served on the Scranton School Board in 2017 and as a special assistant to the Pennsylvania Auditor General in 2018 where she worked to root out waste, fraud, and abuse in government.
In 2019, Paige ran for mayor of Scranton as an Independent, taking on the local political establishment in a campaign that was referred to as “Paige Against The Machine.” Paige chose to run as an Independent after the then-mayor resigned after pleading guilty to federal bribery, conspiracy and extortion charges. Paige stunned Scranton’s political establishment when she won thanks to her promise to clean up the corruption in Scranton. Paige was the first woman ever elected Scranton Mayor, and was eight months pregnant when she won. Paige ran for reelection as a Democrat in 2021, winning a full term with over 71% of the vote and beating the Machine again. She beat the longtime local Democratic boss with 76% of the vote in the Democratic Primary in May of 2025.
As Mayor of Scranton, Paige has made government reform a top priority. In office she has:
- Turned down the city government car and gas card
- Eliminated cash payments and took on no bid contracts
- Took on utilities and fought big businesses gouging consumers
- Held more than 100 public events across every neighborhood in the city
- Cut red tape, slashing building permit fees
- Led the city’s credit rating to investment-grade status
- Saved millions for taxpayers by refinancing bonds
Paige has reinvigorated the city’s finances and helped attract new businesses while simultaneously laying a solid foundation for a brighter future — restoring confidence through responsible government and reimagining outdated ways of doing business.
Now Paige is running for Congress to clean up corruption in Washington and give the people of NEPA a Congresswoman who will work just as hard as they do. Congressman Bresnahan campaigned on a pledge to ban congressional stock trading, but has instead made more than 600 trades worth millions in assets since arriving in Washington. When pressed by WVIA on why he won’t stop trading stocks while in office, Bresnahan – who has reported assets in the tens of millions – complained that he did not want to “lose money and go broke.” Most recently, unearthed audio revealed that Bresnahan admitted to speaking with his financial advisor about his upcoming stock positions while voting in Congress.
For more on Paige’s campaign, go to PaigeforPA.com.
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