🚨 MAYOR PAIGE’S POLITICAL OPPORTUNISM EXPOSED
West Coast liberal Paige Cognetti is being exposed as a shameless political opportunist. A bombshell story from WVIA details how Cognetti is simply using the Scranton Mayor’s Office as a way to launch her personal political career, with one source noting how people in Scranton “can easily point to [Cognetti’s] aspirations beyond Mayor.”
“Shameless political opportunist Paige Cognetti sees the people of Scranton as nothing more than a way to jumpstart her own political career. Pennsylvanians feel completely abandoned by Cognetti, who is clearly in politics for herself.” – NRCC Spokesman Reilly Richardson
Read more from the WVIA here or see excerpts below:
Some analysts see gamble in Cognetti’s two-office bid, others credit her for transparency
Borys Krawczeniuk
WVIA
September 24, 2025
Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti is gambling with her political future by running for two offices at the same time, veteran political analysts say.
By announcing a run for the 8th Congressional District seat next year while still running for re-election this year, Cognetti risks losing both seats, some analysts say.
[…]
“Usually, there’s speculation that someone’s going to make a run for another office shortly after they’re elected or run in the previous year, but usually they hold off the formal announcement,” said Chris Borick, a political science professor at Muhlenberg College and director of its polling institute.
“It might be generally accepted that that’s (the announcement of the second race is) going to happen, but they avoid going all in on two races at once, often because it’s challenging to defend the first race if people can easily point to your aspirations beyond. And so that’s why it doesn’t happen that much,” Borick said.
[…]
Two of Cognetti’s opponents for mayor have already integrated attacks on her dual aspirations into their campaigns.
“Well, I mean, it’s duplicitous at best,” said Barrett, a former Scranton councilman and the Barrett for Mayor candidate for mayor.
In a recent interview, Barrett pointed to Cognetti’s latest campaign finance report and its many contributions from across the country.
“I mean, it’s all over Chicago, Boston, California, Chattanooga, Tennessee, and you just look at the report,” Barrett said. “It clearly tells you, for the last three years, what she’s been doing. Okay, she’s been in Washington, strategically setting up herself with connections all across the country.”
That’s not so unusual for Cognetti. In both her previous runs for mayor, Cognetti, an Oregon native, has piled up large amounts of campaign cash from donors nationwide, many of them family and friends she made in past campaigns and federal jobs.
Cognetti’s simultaneous bids are “just unheard of,” Barrett said.
“How can you tell the people, the voters of Scranton in particular, what you’re going to do for them over the next four years, when, in fact, you’re also telling them at the same time, I may not be here for the next four years?” Barrett said. “It’s upside down.”
Accounting executive Trish Beynon, the Republican mayoral candidate, said Cognetti has raised “questions about her leadership and her priorities” in the minds of voters.
“When you think about it, Scranton deserves a mayor that’s committed to the city and who’s focused on its residents and the neighborhood and probably even the local businesses,” Beynon said. “And we need a mayor that can give their full attention to all the issues at hand. I mean, there’s blight, there’s the road conditions, there’s so many problems, and I feel that if she’s running for two offices, she’s not going to give 100% of her attention to the city of Scranton taxpayers.”
[…]
Simultaneous campaigns for different offices in different years represents “the height of arrogance,” Republican political and public affairs consultant Chris Nicholas said.
“Before she made the announcement, she said she ‘owed it to the people of Northeast Pennsylvania to take a serious look at running for Congress,’” Nicholas said.
“I mean, who thinks like that,” Nicholas added, suggesting that Cognetti’s actions suggest her top priority once she get reelected to mayor “is to go run for a federal office that will take you farther away from Scranton.”
Nicholas said he doesn’t understand why Cognetti couldn’t wait until after the mayor election ended to announce a run for Congress.
Perhaps, he said, Cognetti felt pressure to announce early to discourage others considering bids for Congress.
“Now, she’s caused herself issues in two races,” he said.
Even if she wins for mayor, she risks damaging her political standing, he said. A weak showing in the mayor’s race could make her look weak politically.
“You open yourself (up) to ‘Well, you’re on the decline,’” Nicholas said.