Democrats flipped two Pennsylvania House seats on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, as Bob Brooks ousted Representative Ryan Mackenzie in the 7th District and Paige Cognetti defeated Representative Rob Bresnahan in the 8th District, according to projections by NBC News and Decision Desk HQ. The two Pennsylvania House flips in 2026 gave Democrats fresh momentum on a night when the party was projected to win control of the US House, with only a net gain of three seats needed nationally.

Key Points

• Bob Brooks, president of the Pennsylvania Professional Firefighters Association, ousted first-term Republican Ryan Mackenzie in Pennsylvania's 7th District.
• Paige Cognetti, mayor of Scranton since 2020, defeated Republican Rob Bresnahan in Pennsylvania's 8th District.
• USA TODAY reported at 10:33 p.m. ET that both Mackenzie and Bresnahan would lose, citing projections from Decision Desk HQ, CNN and NBC News.
• Both seats were among four Republican-held Pennsylvania districts Democrats targeted.
• The flips fed the night's Democratic House majority projection, with Democrats needing only a net gain of three seats nationally.

What Happened

On election night, projections pointed to Democratic victories in two of Pennsylvania's most closely watched House races. In the Lehigh Valley, Brooks defeated Mackenzie, a first-term Republican who had flipped the 7th District seat only two years earlier. In northeastern Pennsylvania, Cognetti defeated Bresnahan, who had won the 8th District seat in 2024. The results were reported by USA TODAY at 10:33 p.m. ET on Tuesday, drawing on projections from Decision Desk HQ, CNN and NBC News.

The two races mattered far beyond Pennsylvania because Democrats needed only a net gain of three House seats to win a majority. Winning both districts therefore did much of the work in a single state.

Brooks, who leads the Pennsylvania Professional Firefighters Association, campaigned as a Democrat in a district that has swung between the parties in recent cycles. Mackenzie had won the Lehigh Valley seat in 2024 by about 4,000 votes, with 50.5 percent of the vote, in a district President Donald Trump carried by three points in 2024. That narrow history made the seat one of the top Democratic targets in the country, and the 2026 result reversed the 2024 outcome.

Cognetti, who has served as mayor of Scranton since 2020, won in a district that looked even harder for Democrats on paper. Bresnahan had won the northeastern Pennsylvania seat in 2024 with 50.7 percent of the vote, in a district Trump carried by more than eight points, 53.8 percent to 45.4 percent. Cognetti's victory therefore represented a larger swing than the Brooks result, and it showed the scale of the Democratic gains in Pennsylvania.

Background and Context

Pennsylvania has long been one of America's most important swing states, and its House map reflects that status. The state sends 17 members to the US House, and several of its districts are decided by small margins in presidential and midterm years alike. The Lehigh Valley and the Scranton area are both regions where presidential results, local economics and turnout patterns can move a House race by a few points, which is often enough to change the winner.

The 2024 results set up both 2026 contests. Mackenzie's narrow win in the 7th District showed that the Lehigh Valley seat could change hands quickly, while Bresnahan's win in the 8th District showed that Republicans could hold a northeastern Pennsylvania seat even as Democrats remained competitive in Scranton itself. Democrats identified four Republican-held Pennsylvania districts as targets for 2026, and the 7th and 8th were at the top of that list because their recent margins left them within reach.

Pennsylvania House Flips 2026

The Pennsylvania House flips in 2026 illustrate how a small number of districts can decide control of the House. With Democrats needing a net gain of only three seats nationally, two flips in Pennsylvania alone brought the party close to its target before many other battleground results were known. That is why national parties and outside groups pay such close attention to the Lehigh Valley and northeastern Pennsylvania, even though neither district dominates national headlines on its own.

The two results also underline the difference between a presidential district and a midterm district. Trump carried the 7th District by three points in 2024 and the 8th by more than eight points, yet both seats moved to Democrats two years later.

Reactions and What the Projections Show

The projections themselves were the main development on election night, with NBC News and Decision Desk HQ calling both races for the Democratic challengers and USA TODAY reporting the pair of losses for the Republican incumbents at 10:33 p.m. ET. The reporting drew on the same projection sources used across the country on election night, and it placed the Pennsylvania results in the context of the wider Democratic House majority projection.

For Democrats, the two flips were an early sign that their Pennsylvania strategy had worked. For Republicans, the losses of two first-term incumbents showed how quickly a narrow win can be reversed.

Why It Matters

Control of the House decides which bills reach the floor, which investigations move forward and how much leverage a president has in negotiations with Congress. A Democratic majority, even a narrow one, changes that balance, and the Pennsylvania flips were a direct contribution to it. Every seat flipped in a battleground state reduces the number of additional gains a party needs elsewhere, and Pennsylvania delivered two in one night.

The results also matter for Pennsylvania itself. Brooks and Cognetti will represent districts with distinct local economies, from the Lehigh Valley to the Scranton area, and their victories change the state's delegation for the next Congress.

What Happens Next

Brooks and Cognetti will take their seats when the new Congress convenes in January 2027, joining a House whose majority was decided on election night. In the weeks before then, the focus will turn to the final certified results in both districts, the transition work for the incoming members, and the organisation of the new House, including leadership elections and committee assignments.

The two defeated incumbents will serve out the remainder of their terms until the new Congress is seated, as the House majority projection is confirmed by certified results.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who won Pennsylvania's 7th District in 2026? Democrat Bob Brooks defeated Republican Representative Ryan Mackenzie, according to projections by NBC News and Decision Desk HQ.

Who won Pennsylvania's 8th District in 2026? Democrat Paige Cognetti, mayor of Scranton since 2020, defeated Republican Representative Rob Bresnahan.

How many seats did Democrats need to win the House? Democrats needed a net gain of only three seats nationally to win a House majority, and the two Pennsylvania flips made a large contribution to that target.

Why were these Pennsylvania seats targeted? Both were among four Republican-held Pennsylvania districts Democrats targeted, and both had been won by narrow margins in 2024 in districts Trump carried.

When do the new members take office? Brooks and Cognetti will take their seats when the new Congress convenes in January 2027.

Read more on election night: Democrats win control of the US House in the 2026 midterms, Rebecca Bennett flips New Jersey's 7th District and Katie Hobbs wins a second term as Arizona governor.