Cognetti Targets Bresnahan’s 600 Trades as Lawmaker Stock Dealing Turns Toxic in 2026 Midterms
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Aug 14
Cognetti Targets Bresnahan’s 600 Trades as Lawmaker Stock Dealing Turns Toxic in 2026 Midterms
2 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Aug 14
Summary
Paige Cognetti has made Representative Rob Bresnahan Jr.’s 600 stock trades this year a central attack in her bid to unseat him in Pennsylvania.
Her campaign says Bresnahan sold Chinese stocks around a tariff move and bought missile, jet and crypto-related stocks before war, contract and vote developments.
Democrats are also running ads tying his trades to a data-center development, and recent polls show Cognetti holding a narrow lead in the district.
Bresnahan says a financial adviser executes the trades without his advance knowledge, while his campaign calls Cognetti’s descriptions false and says he backs a ban on congressional stock trading.
The fight reflects a broader 2026 midterm theme as lawmakers’ stock trading becomes a potent liability with voters already angry over economic hardship and a system seen as rigged.