Rob Bresnahan, the Trump–backed House candidate for Pennsylvania, is expected to defeat incumbent Democrat Rep. Matt Cartwright, based on current vote numbers as of midday Tuesday. Cartwright had congratulated his opponent and conceded the race late on Election Day.
Cartwright was first sworn into Congress in 2013, where he represented Pennsylvania’s 17th District before the state redistricted in 2018 and Cartwright was elected to represent the 8th District.
The 8th Congressional District is located in Pennsylvania’s northeastern region and includes cities such as Scranton and Wilkes-Barre, encompassing Wayne, Pike and Lackawanna counties as well as portions of Luzerne and Monroe counties.
Cartwright’s re-election campaign was closely watched because he represents one of just nine districts across the country where Democrats worked to defend their seats after former President Trump won the districts in the 2020 presidential election.
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Democrat Pennsylvania Rep. Matt Cartwright, left, and Republican Pennsylvania House candidate Rob Bresnahan (Getty Images/Rob for PA)
Cartwright’s district voted to re-elect Trump in 2020, carrying the district by 2.9 points over Biden, while Cartwright defeated his Republican congressional challenger by just over 7,000 votes of the 286,886 cast that year, New York Times data shows.
Cartwright campaigned on a platform of strengthening the economy, protecting access to abortion, fixing “the broken asylum process” at the border and strengthening Social Security benefits.
Bresnahan is a fifth-generation native of Luzerne County and CEO of Kuharchik Construction who campaigned on securing the border, cutting taxes and trimming government spending, creating “family-sustaining jobs” in the Keystone State and supporting law enforcement.
Rob Bresnahan, Republican nominee for Pennsylvania’s 8th Congressional District, takes the stage during former President Trump’s campaign rally, Oct. 9, 2024, in Scranton. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
Bresnahan earned Trump’s endorsement for the seat in April.
“A successful Businessman, Rob has worked hard to Create Jobs and Grow the Economy, unlike his opponent, Matt Cartwright, who is completely beholden to Nancy Pelosi and the Radical Left. As your next Congressman, Rob will fight hard to Secure the Border, Cut Wasteful Spending, Strengthen our Military, Support our Veterans, Protect our always under siege Second Amendment, and Hold Joe Biden and his Thugs Accountable for their Unconstitutional Lawfare, Corruption, and ELECTION INTERFERENCE. Rob Bresnahan has my Complete and Total Endorsement!” Trump posted on Truth Social.
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Rep. Matt Cartwright, D-Pa., speaks during a House Appropriations subcommittee hearing on April 9, 2019. (Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Cartwright has previously come under fire for portraying himself as a “moderate” Democrat, with Fox News Digital reporting this year that his voting record paints another story. Voting records show Cartwright overwhelmingly voted in line with Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., when she served as House speaker and that he continued his membership in the left-wing Congressional Progressive Caucus.
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“Every election year Matt Cartwright proclaims ‘I work for you’ to the working-class voters of the 8th District. How could that be true as a member of the radical Progressive Caucus? It’s not. Matt Cartwright represents the radical left, and they own his vote,” Bresnahan told Fox News Digital in March.
Cartwright’s campaign has defended him as “the most bipartisan Democrat in the House, having introduced more bipartisan bills than any other Democrat since coming to Congress.”
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All political eyes have been on Pennsylvania in recent months as the state emerged once again as a key battleground for the presidential race. Trump narrowly won the state in his successful 2016 election against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, while President Biden declared victory in the Keystone State in the 2020 election.