Robert P. Bresnahan
RIncumbentFEC H4PA08124
Sign in + take the quiz to see alignment.
Raised this cycle$6.5M
Cash on hand: $733K
2026 race
PA-08 — U.S. House
2 candidates on the November ballot. Incumbent: Robert P. Bresnahan.
Read the record. Not the rhetoric.
See where these candidates stand — and who's funding them.
DeepSyte tracks the money and the record in every race against the issues you care about — not party, not press releases. Take the 2-minute values quiz to see your alignment.
How we got here · 2 earlier contests
Election held
Counting
Tuesday, November 3, 2026
Results appear here once a race is called and verified. Official returns from the Pennsylvania Department of State.
Make sure you can vote
Disclosed money in race
$19M
Candidate + outside spending. See finance breakdown below.
Incumbent
Currently in office
Challengers
Sorted by fundraising
Paige Cognetti
DChallengerFEC H6PA08293
Sign in + take the quiz to see alignment.
Raised this cycle$7.5M
Cash on hand: $244K
Local signal
Early read on PA-08 — U.S. House
A directional read on where this seat is trending, from the signals we have so far. This is an early scaffold — more inputs light up as coverage and constituent activity accrue.
Coverage tone · the matchup
Recent news coverage of the nominees heading to the general election.
Paige Cognettileans negative
0 pos18 neutral1 neg19 articles
Robert P. Bresnahanlimited coverage
No coverage in our tracked outlets in the last 90 days.
A media signal, not a poll of the district.
Constituent stakes
No one here has staked a position on a tracked vote yet. As neighbors weigh in on /pressure campaigns, the district's lean will show up here.
Money in the race
Finance breakdown
Disclosed funding shaping this race — both the money candidates raise themselves and the outside spending dropped by independent groups. Issue-ad spending by 501(c)(4) groups is excluded; the FEC doesn't require disclosure of it. See the note below for details.
Candidate fundraising: FEC reports through October 14, 2026 · 2025–26 cycle
Total disclosed
$19M
Candidate fundraising + independent expenditures (FEC).
Candidate-direct (Schedule A)
$14M
Raised by candidate committees themselves.
Outside spending (Schedule E)
$5.3M
$202K for · $5.1M against
| Candidate | Raised directly | Outside for | Outside against | Net in corner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Paige Cognetti(D) + WELCOMEPAC $103K + PROGRESSIVE TURNOUT PROJECT $41K + RURAL FREEDOM NETWORK $32K − CLF $2.4M − THE GOVERNING MAJORITY FUND $56K − PENNSYLVANIA PRO-LIFE FEDERATION PAC $23 | $7.5M | $202K | $2.4M | $5.3M |
Robert P. Bresnahan(R)incumbent − HMP $1.2M − GIFFORDS PAC $860K − AB PAC $368K | $6.5M | — | $2.7M | $3.8M |
Where the money comes from
In-state vs out-of-state
Share of each candidate's itemized individual contributions from donors inside PA versus the rest of the country. Excludes sub-$200 unitemized donations (no geography on file) and PAC money — see note below.
Paige Cognetti(D)23% in-state · $3.5M itemized
$811K in-state$2.7M out-of-state
Robert P. Bresnahan(R)32% in-state · $3.4M itemized
$1.1M in-state$2.3M out-of-state
What's counted, what isn't
Candidate-direct is each campaign's reported receipts on FEC Schedule A — individual contributions plus PAC contributions to the candidate's own committee — through the most recent filing.
Outside spending is independent expenditures on FEC Schedule E: money spent by PACs, super PACs, and party committees for or against a candidate, without legal coordination with the campaign. The committees listed under each candidate are the largest disclosed spenders on either side.
In-state vs out-of-state covers only itemized individual contributions — donations over $200, which are the only ones that carry a contributor address at the FEC. Sub-$200 unitemized donations (often a large share for grassroots campaigns) have no geography on file and are excluded, as is PAC money. So the percentages describe where a candidate's itemized individual money comes from, not where every dollar raised comes from.
Not counted: 501(c)(4) "social welfare" organizations run issue ads that frequently mention candidates by name but aren't classified as express advocacy under FEC rules — they file no Schedule E and don't appear in this breakdown. Press reporting on a race may cite figures that include this dark-money spending; ours doesn't.
Where they stand
Issue-by-issue comparison
Positions extracted from each candidate's campaign issues page by AI. Contested rows — where candidates disagree with each other — appear first.
| Statement | Cognetti | Bresnahan | You |
|---|---|---|---|
Antitrust & Competition Federal antitrust laws should be strengthened to break up dominant technology platforms. | — | ||
Antitrust & Competition Pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) should be subject to stricter federal antitrust scrutiny. | — | ||
Digital Assets Federal restrictions on cryptocurrency mining for energy use and emissions should be enacted. | — | ||
Economy Tariffs on foreign goods should be used to protect American jobs. | — | ||
Economy The federal government should require employers to provide paid family and medical leave. | — | ||
Environment Government environmental reviews for energy and infrastructure projects should move faster, even if it means fewer reviews. | — | ||
Foreign Policy The U.S. should spend more on the military. | — | ||
Healthcare Enhanced ACA premium subsidies should be made permanent at expanded levels. | — | ||
Infrastructure The government should invest in expanding passenger rail, including high-speed rail. | — | ||
Labor Federal labor law should make it easier for workers to form unions (PRO Act-style reforms). | — | ||
Governance & Other Outside political spending — from PACs and super PACs — should be limited more strictly. | — | ||
Trade Presidents should be able to impose broad tariffs unilaterally under emergency powers (IEEPA-style authority). | — | ||
Trade Federal procurement should give strong preference to U.S.-made goods, even at higher cost. | — |
SupportsOpposesNo public positionRinged = confirmed by the campaign
Recent coverage
In the news
Paige Cognetti
- https://www.inquirer.com/politics/election/election-voters-pennsylvania-new-jersey-trump-20261103.htmlThe Philadelphia InquirerNov 4
- https://www.inquirer.com/politics/election/pennsylvania-midterms-2026-election-results-analysis-blue-wave-20261103.htmlThe Philadelphia InquirerNov 4
- https://www.inquirer.com/politics/pennsylvania/bresnahan-cognetti-race-pennsylvania-8th-district-winner-results-midterms-20261103.htmlThe Philadelphia InquirerNov 4
- https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2026-election/democrats-house-control-midterm-election-wins-trump-check-rcna603397NBC NewsNov 4
About this race page
Candidate roster is sourced from the FEC's active-candidate list for the 2026 cycle. Fundraising totals reflect committee filings through the last reporting period.
Alignment % compares the candidate's extracted policy positions against your quiz answers. Positions are pulled from the candidate's campaign issues page by AI; we save the source quote for each position so you can verify the extraction. Candidates without a campaign issues page show position data pending — we're working through the roster and re-checking stale extractions every 90 days.
News coverage is from the GDELT 2.0 global news feed, filtered to a curated list of national, political, and regional outlets.