A freshman Republican congressman who campaigned against stock trading by lawmakers, then racked up trades of his own, is projected to lose his seat.
Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti, a Democrat, defeated Rep. Rob Bresnahan (R-PA) in Pennsylvania’s 8th Congressional District on Tuesday, CNN and Decision Desk HQ projected.
Bresnahan, who was endorsed by President Donald Trump for reelection, flipped the northeastern Pennsylvania seat in 2024, ousting longtime Democratic Rep. Matt Cartwright by about 6,000 votes in a district Trump carried by 9 points. Cook Political Report rated this year’s race a toss-up.
During that 2024 campaign, Bresnahan called stock trading by members of Congress “sickening” and pledged to ban it. Once in office, he made more than 600 trades worth millions of dollars, becoming one of the most active stock traders in Congress, Spotlight PA reported. Bresnahan has maintained that his financial advisers made the trades without his input.
Cognetti made the trades the centerpiece of her campaign from the day she launched it, accusing Bresnahan of breaking his promise.
“Rob ran for Congress on a promise to ban stock trades,” Cognetti said in her launch video. “This year, he’s already made 600 trades.”
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