Cognetti Launches TV Campaign Against Data Centers in Pennsylvania House Race

Paige Cognetti, the mayor of Scranton, is directing her campaign message against artificial intelligence data center development as she seeks to unseat freshman Republican Rep. Rob Bresnahan in a competitive Pennsylvania congressional district. The 30-second television spot, which runs across broadcast, cable and digital platforms, represents a strategic bid to capitalize on grassroots opposition to data center projects that has energized voters in the region.

Cognetti’s candidacy in the swing district has emerged as one of Democrats’ most promising pickup opportunities heading into the November election, a contest with significant implications for control of the U.S. House and efforts to counter President Donald Trump’s policy agenda. The campaign’s focus on data centers reflects broader national concerns about corporate development practices in communities across the country.

In the advertisement, Cognetti invokes the district’s industrial past as a coal and natural gas region, drawing parallels between historical corporate extraction and current data center expansion. She criticizes developer secrecy surrounding project details, tax incentives granted by state governments, and rising electricity costs borne by residents to support the computational demands of data storage and processing facilities.

The ad’s messaging demands that technology companies cover their own infrastructure costs, operate transparently without non-disclosure agreements, maintain fair utility rates, protect water resources and commit to hiring unionized local workers. Her closing statement—”This is our home. We are not for sale”—frames the election as a referendum on community autonomy versus corporate interests.

Cognetti’s campaign is investing approximately $200,000 for the initial two-week run of the advertisement. The investment reflects Democratic confidence in the district’s competitive nature and the potency of anti-data-center sentiment among voters.

Meanwhile, Bresnahan has positioned himself as an advocate for local control by introducing the Local Control Protection Act in June, which aims to restrict corporations from suing municipalities that deny data center zoning applications through local decision-making processes. The legislation remains stalled in committee without additional co-sponsors, despite Bresnahan’s characterization of it as necessary to prevent “billion-dollar corporations” from overriding community voices.

The data center dispute has become increasingly contentious in northeastern Pennsylvania, where planned facilities and accompanying high-voltage transmission lines have sparked legal battles between developers and communities. The opposition movement has expanded from local races to higher-profile contests, signaling a shift in campaign dynamics across the nation.

Republicans have invested heavily in protecting Bresnahan’s seat, with President Trump and Vice President JD Vance both visiting the district last year. The party’s commitment underscores the strategic importance of the race to GOP House control efforts.