The election for the 8th Congressional District seat in northeastern Pennsylvania is still over 13 months away but the contestants are getting a running start.

Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti appeared on MSNBC on Tuesday evening to highlight her record in the city of getting government to work for the people, how she is running to clean up corruption in Washington and criticizing current office-holder Rep. Rob Bresnahan for breaking his campaign promise to ban congressional stock trading.

Bresnahan fired back, lashing out at Cognetti for leaving Scranton when there are two area hospitals on the verge of closing and traveling to D.C. to “hype her vanity campaign for higher office.”

The congressman was referring to the financial difficulties for Regional Hospital of Scranton and Moses Taylor Hospital. In August, Commonwealth Health System and Tenor Health Foundation signed a letter of intent for Tenor to purchase both hospitals, according to an internal memo obtained by WVIA News.

“With Scranton’s hospitals in crisis, Mayor Cognetti chose to blow off work to cosplay as a congresswoman in Washington, D.C.,” said Bresnahan campaign spokesperson Chris Pack. “Scranton deserves a mayor focused on fixing problems, not a self-serving politician chasing fame on Scranton taxpayers’ dime.”

“I ran as an Independent for mayor of Scranton six years [ago] when I saw a corrupt, local Democratic Party. I’m still running as Paige Against the Machine in Scranton,” said Cognetti. “We go after corruption wherever we see it, and sadly Rob Bresnahan has brought that to Northeastern Pennsylvania again.”

Cognetti focused her comments on Bresnahan’s 2024 campaign promise to end congressional stock trading.

“It doesn’t make sense. He wrote last year that you should not buy and sell stocks while voting on legislation that will have a direct impact on these companies,” she said. “He got to Congress and has become one of the most prolific stock traders in all of Congress.

“He has bought defense, clean energy. He’s sold all these different stocks right before he votes and has a direct impact on those industries. He sold Medicaid provider stock right before voting to slash Medicaid and cut the health care of 25,000 of our neighbors in Northeastern Pennsylvania. It doesn’t make sense. It’s the exact kind of corruption that people are sick and tired of.”

Bresnahan’s campaign countered that her turn on TV does not help the people of Scranton, showing voters were her priorities lie.

Bresnahan defeated incumbent Democrat Matt Cartwright by just 6,000 votes last fall to turn the PA-08 seat from blue to red.

Cognetti is currently running for a second full term as mayor of the Electric City and faces Republican Trish Beynon in November.