Pennsylvania GOP congressional candidate disses Scranton, largest city in district, in town hall
While speaking at a town hall in Wayne County last month, Pennsylvania congressional candidate Rob Bresnahan denounced the district’s biggest city, Scranton, saying it “is not what we are.”
While speaking at a town hall in Wayne County last month, Pennsylvania congressional candidate Rob Bresnahan denounced the district’s biggest city, Scranton, saying it “is not what we are.”
“We need communities that are safe, and we are drastically mistaken if we do not think big city problems are going to find their way right here to Northeastern Pennsylvania,” Bresnahan said. “If you look at the city of Scranton, like Jonathan said, like Rep. Fritz said, that is not what we are.”
Pennsylvania GOP congressional candidate Rob Bresnahan insults Scranton, a city of 76,000 people in the district he is seeking to represent:
“If you look at the city of Scranton … That is not what we are.” pic.twitter.com/psUKjOSBQx
— Heartland Signal (@HeartlandSignal) April 1, 2024
Pennsylvania’s Eighth Congressional District, which Bresnahan is running for, is largely suburban and rural but has two Democratic-leaning cities, Scranton and Wilkes-Barre. The U.S. Census estimates that Scranton has a population of 75,848 as of July 2022; Wilkes-Barre has an estimated population of 44,261 in that same time period. The majority of the district voted for Republican Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election but for Democrats Josh Shapiro and John Fetterman in the state’s 2022 gubernatorial and Senate elections, respectively. The city of Pittston, where Bresnahan resides, has an estimated population of 7,614.
The 33-year-old Bresnahan announced his candidacy for the seat in November. According to his website’s “About” page, Bresnahan inherited his grandfather’s company Kuharchik Construction and became the CFO at the age of 19. Since taking up the company and becoming its CEO, Bresnahan’s net worth has ballooned to over $60 million, according to his own financial reports, which encompasses more than 45 pages of assets.
Pennsylvania’s Eighth Congressional District is currently held by five-term incumbent Rep. Matt Cartwright (D), who will likely face Bresnahan in the November general election. Bresnahan is the only Republican on Pennsylvania’s primary ballot for April 23.
EDITOR’S NOTE (4/1): A previous version of this article stated Ben Shapiro is the Democrat that won the 2022 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election. It was Josh Shapiro.
