HARRISBURG, Pa. — Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti is going on offense against artificial intelligence data centers in her campaign to unseat freshman Republican Rep. Rob Bresnahan in a competitive Pennsylvania congressional district — declaring in a new television ad that the community is “not for sale.”
The matchup between Cognetti and Bresnahan is considered one of the strongest pickup opportunities for Democrats heading into the November election, as the party works to gain control of the U.S. House and counter President Donald Trump’s legislative agenda.
The ad arrives as opposition to data center projects has rattled local races across the country and is now beginning to influence higher-profile congressional contests. The district Cognetti is targeting has been at the center of several proposed AI data center developments.
Facing the camera directly, Cognetti draws on the region’s deep roots in coal and shale gas production: “Big companies have come before, taken what they wanted and left us with their mess to clean up. Now it’s data centers.”
She goes on to call out the lack of transparency that often surrounds these developments, the tax incentives that states hand to developers, and the climbing electricity rates affecting the mid-Atlantic region — all driven in part by the enormous energy appetite of data centers, which operate large clusters of computers for storing, processing, and transmitting data.
“Big Tech needs to pay their own way. Not hide behind NDAs. No tax breaks. Don’t raise our electric bills, don’t poison our water. And hire local, union labor,” Cognetti says in the ad.
She closes with a pointed message: “Then get out. This is our home. We are not for sale.”
Data centers have been elevated as a national priority by President Trump, who views them as essential to keeping the United States ahead of China in the race for artificial intelligence dominance.
Still, resistance has grown in communities across the country, including in northeastern Pennsylvania, where large data center complexes and new high-voltage power lines are in the planning stages. Several disputes between residents and developers have escalated into legal battles.
Cognetti’s campaign said the 30-second spot will air on broadcast television, cable channels, and digital platforms, with the initial two-week run costing approximately $200,000.
Bresnahan has responded to data center concerns in his district by introducing legislation called the Local Control Protection Act, which he says would restrict corporations from suing local governments over zoning decisions that reject data center construction proposals.
“We should never let billion-dollar corporations supersede the voices of those who live in the community,” Bresnahan said in a statement when the bill was introduced in June.
The legislation has not yet advanced out of committee and has not attracted a cosponsor.
Republicans have identified Bresnahan’s seat as one to protect, with both President Trump and Vice President JD Vance having visited the district last year.
