PENNSYLVANIA, USA — The race in Pennsylvania's 8th Congressional District has some similarities and some differences from the one two years ago.
First, the boundaries were redrawn. Some parts of the 8th were taken away, and other sections were added.
The district includes parts of Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe, Pike, and Wayne Counties.
Now, the big similarity — the candidates. They are the same as two years ago.
Republican Jim Bognet easily defeated Mike Marsicano in the May primary, winning nearly 70 percent of the vote. The Hazleton native with a law degree from UCLA calls himself a small business owner and a conservative policy advisor. He worked in the Trump administration handling trade issues, among other things.
Democrat Matt Cartwright wants another two years in Washington. He was first elected ten years ago, back when district boundaries had him in the 17th District. According to Ballotpedia.com, Rep. Cartwright practiced law in Philadelphia and Scranton for nearly 30 years.
Cartwright is a member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee. He says he has a good record of bringing jobs to the district and improving the economy. Cartwright paints Bognet as a government lobbyist who is not interested in helping the working class.
Bognet counters that Cartwright follows the Biden/Pelosi agenda, an agenda that Bognet claims increased inflation, damaged the American economy, and hurt the middle class. He also charges America lost its energy independence when President Biden took office.
Two years ago, Bognet lost to Cartwright by about 12,000 votes out of 344,000 votes cast.
Watch the complete debate for the 8th Congressional District: