Democrats flip seat in Pennsylvania’s 8th district

Democrats flipped a coveted House race that was previously flipped by Republicans during the last election.

By Ashe Short

Published: November 3, 2026 10:58pm

Incumbent Republican Rep. Rob Bresnahan Jr. lost his re-election bid Tuesday night to Democrat challenger Paige Cognetti.

The Associated Press called the race at 10:41 p.m. ET, and with 94% of votes counted, Cognetti led Bresnahan Jr. by 10.4 percentage points.

Bresnahan won the district from Democrats in 2024 by just two percentage points, with President Donald Trump winning the district by nearly nine points. Cognetti, the former Democratic mayor of Scranton, managed to win the seat after it was initially rated “leans Republican” by Cook Political Report. The Report changed the race to a toss-up at a later date. The Hill reported that the district attracted high amounts of outside spending from both parties.

This is a developing story.