The Case Against Jim Bognet

“Congressman Matt Cartwright has been a common-sense, independent voice for northeastern Pennsylvania in Congress. His record of delivering for his constituents is unparalleled, securing funding for local law enforcement, lowering costs for families, and passing historic infrastructure investments for the region. Matt Cartwright has shown when he fights, he delivers for northeastern Pennsylvania. Cartwright’s record of success stands in stark contrast to his opponent’s failed DC political operative Jim Bognet. Carpetbagger Jim Bognet is a direct threat to Pennsylvanians.  His agenda would strip protections for those with pre-existing conditions and threaten Social Security and Medicare that Pennsylvanians rely on.” – DCCC Chairman Sean Patrick Maloney

To: Interested Parties
From: James Singer, DCCC Regional Press Secretary
Date:  May 17, 2022
Subject: The Case Against Jim Bognet

The changing political winds have not stopped Rep. Matt Cartwright from successfully defending his seat because northeastern Pennsylvania families and small businesses know he’s one of them. Always rising above partisan politics to deliver for his district, Cartwright is in an excellent position to defend and retain his seat once again.

His opponent Jim Bognet could not offer a starker contrast in the campaign. Bognet is a failed, out of state political operative more intent on his own ambition than doing anything for Pennsylvania. He’s lied about the election, supports repealing health care protections, and has pushed to cut Medicare and Social Security so he can lower taxes for the rich.

Bognet doesn’t have the knowledge, ability, record, or character to serve the people of Pennsylvania’s 8th district.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING

Bognet Attacked Cartwright For Supporting The Infrastructure Investment And Jobs Act. “Bognet said Cartwright has allowed the Biden-Pelosi agenda to pass through Congress and has been a helping hand in doing it. Cartwright has voted with Pelosi 99 percent of the time, helping her pass the Democrats’ partisan items such as the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill and the $1.75 trillion reconciliation infrastructure bill. It was revealed last month that the reconciliation bill would add three-quarters of a billion dollars to the American deficit over five years.” [Breitbart, 12/5/21]

October 2020: Wilkes-Barre Citizens’ Voice Editorial: Bognet, “Who Lived Outside NEPA For 25 Years Before Returning Two Years Ago, Clearly Is Not Deeply Conversant With The District.” “Bognet, however, who lived outside NEPA for 25 years before returning two years ago, clearly is not deeply conversant with the district — at least our part of it — and several crucial issues. In an interview, for example, he seemed to have no sense of the danger posed to heavily populated parts of Luzerne and Lackawanna counties by allowing daily shipments by truck or rail of 4 million gallons of explosive liquefied natural gas from a processing plant in Bradford County to an export terminal in New Jersey. To Bognet, the natural gas industry must be protected first, rather than his would-be constituents who might be in its path.” [Wilkes-Barre Citizens’ Voice, Editorial, 10/30/20]

GOP Primary Opponent Mike Marsicano On Bognet: “I’ve Lived Here My Entire Life. He Hasn’t. … This Guy’s From Washington … He’s Not Been Here. Nobody Knows Him.” “Marsicano said he was a law-and-order mayor and state trooper, is a National Guard veteran and will add federal funding for police.  ‘I’m a businessman. I work every day, I understand what it means to have a budget and pay bills. … My endorsements are the scars and the burns on my hands every day because I still continue to work. … I’ve lived here my entire life. He hasn’t. … This guy’s from Washington, there’s no no question about it,’ he said, referring to Bognet’s political consultant work. ‘He’s not been here. Nobody knows him.’” [Citizens Voice, 5/1/22]

March 2006: Bognet Filed To Run For 53rd Assembly District Republican Central Committee And Listed His Address As 201 28th Street, Hermosa Beach, CA.

[Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder, Candidate List, 4/27/06]

• July 2006: Bognet Was Elected To The 53rd Assembly District Republican Central Committee With 11.48 Percent Of The Vote. [Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder, Election Results, 6/6/06]

March 2020: Bognet Called Himself “100 Percent Pro-Life” And “For Fetal Life.” “I’m sure about this: I’m 100% pro-life. I believe in the sanctity of life, not just for fetal life, but also at the end of life. We have to promote a culture that values the dignity of life.” [Sam Lesante Show, 3/13/20] (VIDEO) 12:30

After A Draft Opinion Overturning Roe v. Wade Leaked To The Public, Bognet Urged Pro-Life Activists To “Fight Despite Implacable Opposition, Dirty Tricks, And Unethical Leaks.” [Twitter, @Bognet4Congress, 5/2/22]

Jim Bognet is a failed DC political insider and shadow lobbyist who has spent years fighting against NEPA values.

BOGNET IS A THREAT TO PENNSYLVANIA’S POCKETBOOKS, SOCIAL SECURITY, MEDICARE, AND HEALTH CARE

Bognet’s dangerous, unhinged policies would devastate northeastern Pennsylvania.

Bognet is a threat to health care coverage across northeastern Pennsylvania.  Bognet openly opposes the “disaster” of protecting those with pre-existing conditions and would threaten the nearly 1 million Pennsylvanians who have been covered by Medicaid/CHIP.

Bognet is a threat to seniors. Bognet has advocated for cuts to Medicare and Social Security as he supported lowering taxes for corporations and the wealthy that drove up the deficit.

Bognet opposed bipartisan solutions. Bognet opposed the bipartisan infrastructure bill that would help rebuild the more than 3,300 bridges and 7,540 miles of highway in poor condition in Pennsylvania that cost Pennsylvania drivers $620 per year.  In total, Bognet opposed more than $18 billion dollars to improve Pennsylvania roads, bridges, high speed internet access, and clean water access.

DC INSIDER, NEPA OUTSIDER

Bognet is nothing more than a political opportunist. He is a failed political consultant who spent 25 years outside NEPA, working for politicians in Washington, DC, Boston, Texas, and California.  Bognet, a two-time loser in Pennsylvania, and even held elected political office in Hermosa Beach, California.

Bognet has made more than a million dollars working on mostly losing political campaigns, some of which were associated with embezzlement and fraud. His deputy campaign manager was even convicted of stealing over $115,000 in campaign funds under his watch.

From 1997 to 2018, Bognet never listed any Pennsylvania work or address on his resume:

• 2018: Bognet managed Martha McSally’s failed Arizona Senate campaign.

• 2016-2018: Bognet worked for the Glover Park Group in Washington D.C. as they lobbied on behalf of Saudi Arabia against 9/11 victims. While in DC, Bognet was a member of an exclusive Washington, DC dating app meant to “breed power couples.”

• 2013-2016:, Bognet appeared to live in southern California and Austin while working as a political operative.

• 2015-2016: Bognet did media consulting work for a Texas politician and was paid at an address in Manhattan Beach, California.

• 2015: On record related to a disciplinary matter with his legal license, Bognet’s listed address was in Austin, Texas.

• 2014: Bognet managed ballot initiative campaigns in Oregon and Colorado and was paid at an address in Manhattan Beach, California.

• 2013-2015: Bognet did consulting work in Los Angeles, California, including by coordinating corporate opposition research efforts for Uber as it sought to monopolize the taxi industry.

• 2011-2012: Bognet worked for Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign and managed a failed U.S. Senate campaign in Texas.

• 2010: Bognet was a deputy campaign manager for Steve Poizner’s failed California gubernatorial campaign and later worked at a D.C. media consulting firm.

• 2007-2008: Bognet worked for the Romney and McCain presidential campaigns, living in Boston and Washington, DC.

• 2003-2006: Bognet worked for California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, including as his liaison to the Los Angeles area.

• 1999-2003: Bognet attended graduate school in UCLA and lived in Hermosa Beach, California.

• 1997-1998: Bognet worked on Wall Street in New York City.

 CHINA HYPOCRISY

Bognet has posed as a China hawk in his runs for Congress – but in his own self interest – Bognet is a chicken on China. 

As a Romney advisor, Bognet opposed taking on China, and when Bognet worked at the Export-Import Bank, it authorized millions to China.

In his last run for Congress, a Super PAC supporting Bognet was funded by a member of a Beijing-based biopharmaceutical company that was called “the poster child of China’s booming biotech industry” and ran dozens of clinical trials in Wuhan, China – all as Bognet has attacked Wuhan labs and China repeatedly.

PATH TO VICTORY

Cartwright has consistently put up very strong performances in this Trump district, winning 51.8% of the major-party vote in 2020 and 54.6% in 2018 — outperforming Senator Casey by 1.5 points in 2018. Redistricting has made PA-08 more Democratic-leaning, increasing President Biden’s vote share by just under a point. Since 2012, every Democratic candidate for Governor, US Senate, and US House has carried the new PA-08, and Governor Wolf won the district by a double-digit margin in 2018, with 57.3% of the major-party vote. Josh Shapiro, who will be at the top of the ticket as Democrats’ nominee for governor in 2022, won 53.6% in his 2020 re-election as attorney general, overperforming President Biden by 5.1 points.

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