Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti wouldn’t be the first woman from Northeast Pennsylvania to go to Congress if she wins election in November.
But the first — and only — served long ago.
Her name was Veronica Grace Barrett Boland, who also made state history back in 1942.
She and her husband lived in Scranton’s Hill Section, and she served as his secretary. He was U.S. Rep. Patrick Boland, a former Lackawanna County commissioner and Scranton school director who ran a respected construction company with his brother.
First elected to Congress in 1930, Boland was a reliable, close friend of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He was named the House Democratic Whip in January 1935. Whips round up votes for and against bills. That spring, Congress voted to create Social Security.
Boland’s wife made history after he died May 18, 1942. His seat remained vacant until that Nov. 3 when Veronica Boland won a special election, unopposed, to serve the final two months of his term.
That not only made her the first woman from Northeast Pennsylvania elected to Congress, but also the first woman in state history.
A short list
Boland was the first of only 12 women elected to the U.S. House from Pennsylvania. Only 407 women have served in the House in the nation’s history, according to a congressional website.
Pennsylvania has never had a female U.S. senator or, for that matter, governor. The Democratic Party has never nominated a woman to run for governor but has for the U.S. Senate — State Secretary of Internal Affairs Genevieve Blatt in 1964, Lynn Yeakel in 1992 and Katie McGinty in 2016. The Republican Party has never nominated a woman for the U.S. Senate but has nominated two women for governor — then-state Auditor General Barbara Hafer in 1990 and state Treasurer Stacy Garrity this year.
“I think in the year 2026 it (being a woman) shouldn't matter, but we're still working to break glass ceilings,” Brittany Crampsie, a Democratic political consultant. “I'm sure there are some voters that are going to vote in part because of that. I think it would be a great sign for the next generation of women running for office.”
Husbands died, they stepped up
The first three Pennsylvania women elected to the House, including Veronica Boland, won election after their husbands died in office.
Vera Buchanan, a Democrat from Allegheny County, was the second, in 1950, succeeding her late husband, Frank Buchanan. She won reelection in 1952 before retiring from Congress.
Kathryn E. Granahan, a Democrat from Philadelphia, was the third, in 1956, succeeding her late husband, William Granahan, and winning reelection twice, the final time in 1960 when the nation elected Sen. John F. Kennedy as president. Kennedy later named Granahan the nation’s treasurer.
The next 29 women who ran for the House all lost.
A long time without
It wasn’t until 1992, when Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky, a Montgomery County Democrat, won, that another state woman joined the House. She lost the seat two years later. Her son, Marc, is married to Chelsea Clinton, the daughter of President Bill Clinton and Hillary Rodham Clinton.
It took until 2000 for Pennsylvanians to elect a Republican woman to the House. Melissa Hart, of Allegheny County, won that year and won reelection twice. Hart remains the only Republican woman elected.
More women lately
Five of the 12 Pennsylvania women elected to the House have won seats since 2018, which Crampsie contends may help current female candidates.
“Every time you see a woman succeed, the next one thinks it's more likely and is more likely to run,” she said. “It's very hard to recruit women to run for office. Statistically, you ask a man to run for office, you ask him one time, and he says yes, he's going to file his petition signatures. On average, you have to ask a woman seven times to run for office before she says yes, and that's a consultant coming in.”
Often, it takes a politically oriented organization such as Emily’s List to recruit women to run, she said.
“It's hard to get women into this because they don't see as many women succeeding. It continues on and on,” Crampsie said.
11 women running this year
Cognetti, who is running for the 8th Congressional District seat against Republican U.S. Rep. Rob Bresnahan, isn’t the only woman challenging an incumbent for the U.S. House in Pennsylvania this year:
- Democrat Rachel Wallace, a former Biden administration official, is running against Republican U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser in the 9th Congressional District.
- Former TV news anchor Janelle Stelson, a Democrat, is running for a second straight federal election against Republican U.S. Rep. Scott Perry in the 10th Congressional District.
- Jessica Arriaga, a Republican, is challenging Democratic U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle in the 2nd Congressional District.
- Republican Aurora Stuski is challenging Rep. Madeleine Dean in the 4th Congressional District.
- Democrat Nancy Mannion is challenging Republican U.S. Rep. Lloyd Smucker in the 11th Congressional District.
- Democrat Beth Farnham is challenging Republican U.S. Rep. John Joyce in the 13th Congressional District.
Three Democratic female Pennsylvania House members are seeking re-election — Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (5th District), Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (6th District) and Rep. Summer Lee (12th District).
Elected in 1916, Rep. Jeannette Rankin of Montana was the first woman to serve in Congress. In total, 453 women have served in Congress — 407 in the House of Representatives; 65 in the Senate; 19 women have served in both chambers. Currently, 156 serve in Congress — 129 in the House and 27 in the Senate.
Since the U.S. Congress convened on March 4, 1789, 12,591 individuals have served as Representatives, Senators, or in both capacities. There have been 10,573 Members who served only as representatives, 1,329 Members who served only in the Senate, and 689 Members with service in both chambers. The total number of Representatives (including individuals serving in both bodies) is 11,262.
The entire list
The 12 Pennsylvania women elected to the U.S. House and the year they were first elected are:
- Veronica Boland (D), 1942
- Vera Buchanan (D), 1952
- Kathryn Granahan (D), 1956
- Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky (D), 1994
- Melissa Hart (R), 2000
- Allyson Schwartz (D), 2006
- Kathy Dahlkemper (D), 2008
- Madeleine Dean (D), 2018
- Mary Gay Scanlon (D), 2018
- Chrissy Houlahan (D), 2018
- Susan Wild (D), 2018
- Summer Lee (D), 2022
