Pennsylvania Rep. Matt Cartwright Concedes

Cartwright, who was first elected in 2013, is a progressive Democrat in what is a slightly Republican district.

Ranking Member Matt Cartwright (D-Pa.) questions U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland as he appears at a House Appropriations Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on April 16, 2024. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-Pa.) lost reelection on Nov. 5 in Pennsylvania’s Eighth Congressional District as the GOP looks to expand its majority in the House of Representatives, while the Democrats look to take it back.

Republican businessman Rob Bresnahan Jr. defeated Cartwright.

Cartwright conceded on Nov. 6.

“I know this is not the result we hoped for, but it has been the honor of my life to represent our community in Congress,” he said in a statement posted on X.

“Thank you, Congressman Cartwright, for the warm wishes and your service to our state. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again—the only letters that matter next to my name are N.E.P.A.,” Bresnahan wrote in an X post in response, with the initials standing for “Northeastern Pennsylvania.”

Cartwright, who was first elected in 2013, is a progressive in what is a slightly Republican district.

An InsideElections poll showed Cartwright leading by 7 percentage points.

During an Oct. 22 debate, Cartwright touted his bringing taxpayer dollars back to the district over the past few years, including around $20 million for law enforcement.

Regarding inflation, Bresnahan blamed the national debt, while Cartwright blamed corporate profiteering and price gouging.

When it comes to the border, Bresnahan said there should be a physical barrier supplemented with hybrid technologies, while Cartwright expressed support for a bipartisan bill that would have required the president to shut down the border if there were 5,000 illegal entrants in one day. Senate Republicans blocked it, saying the bill didn’t go far enough to secure the border. Cartwright touted voting for legislation to defund sanctuary cities and increasing criminal penalties against illegal immigrants who commit violent crimes.

Bresnahan vowed to be an independent voice and do what is best for the district, noting that his first day campaigning was Oct. 3, 2023, when former Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was stripped of the speaker’s gavel.

“And I remember thinking, ‘This is exactly why I’m running.’ I’m so sick and tired of the in-fighting that nothing ends up getting done, that there’s just these two fractions on both sides, just pushing further to the right and further to the left,” Bresnahan said.

Bresnahan went after Cartwright, claiming that he has voted in line with his fellow Democrats 98 percent of the time—which Cartwright called a “misconception” as he has put forth 16 “substantive” bipartisan bills that became law.

“If you think that I hate Republicans, you got the wrong guy,” said Cartwright, noting that his father and one of his three brothers are Republican.

On the issue of abortion, Cartwright said the Supreme Court was wrong to overturn Roe v. Wade in a landmark 2022 decision, calling it “a jarring decision for American law.”

Bresnahan said the Supreme Court was right to overturn Roe v. Wade as the federal government should not be deciding the abortion issue.

Bresnahan will take office on Jan. 3, 2025.