Matthew Alton Cartwright (born May 1, 1961) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the U.S. representative for Pennsylvania's 8th congressional district from 2013 to 2025.

In the segment, aired nightly as part of NBC affiliate WBRE-TV's evening newscast, he fielded viewer questions on legal matters.

[11] In 2011, Cartwright co-authored the legal treatise Litigating Commercial and Business Tort Cases published by Thomson Reuters.

[15] On November 5, 2010, the Boy Scouts of America's Northeastern Pennsylvania Council presented Cartwright with its Silver Beaver Award for volunteer service to that organization.

[16] Pennsylvania Republicans, who controlled the redistricting process after the 2010 United States Census, significantly altered Holden's 17th district.

The old 17th had been anchored in traditionally Republican territory in central Pennsylvania; in much of the district, Holden was the only elected Democrat above the county level.

[21][22] Cartwright ran as a self-professed "FDR Democrat", and as an ally of President Obama on taxes and health care reform, and pledged to work with U.S.

Cartwright also benefited in the race from endorsements from popular local public figures like State Representative Phyllis Mundy and former Scranton mayor Jimmy Connors.

Holden's opposition to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and his support of energy legislation that included the Halliburton loophole are believed to have contributed to his defeat.

[24] In the November general election, Cartwright faced Republican nurse Laureen Cummings, a leader of the Scranton Tea Party.

[26][27] On November 4, 2014, Cartwright won a second term, defeating Republican challenger David Moylan, M.D., the elected Coroner of Schuylkill County, by 13.6 points.

[28] On November 8, 2016, Cartwright won a third term, defeating Republican challenger Matthew Connolly, a businessman from Northampton County, by seven points.

[30][31] As a result, the National Republican Congressional Committee began to see Cartwright as potentially vulnerable, and listed him as a top target.

[36] On November 3, 2020, despite Donald Trump again carrying his district, Cartwright won a fifth term, defeating Republican challenger Jim Bognet, the former senior vice president for communications of the Export–Import Bank of the United States,[37] by 3.6 points.

In contrast, Trump won the district against Democratic challenger and Scranton native Joe Biden by 4.4 points during the concurrent presidential election.

[citation needed] On January 25, 2021, Cartwright was elected Chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice and Science and Related Agencies.

In the lead-up to the election, the 8th District's race was seen as potentially determining whether or not the Democratic Party would maintain control of the U.S. House of Representatives.

In 2022, Cartwright appeared in advertisements praising one of his top donor's law firm in what Axios described as "an apparent misunderstanding over video shot for the Pennsylvania Democrat's bill about water contamination at Camp Lejeune."

[62]Ed O'Keefe of the Washington Post wrote on November 3, 2013, that Cartwright was elected largely based on the Affordable Care Act "because the veteran moderate Democrat he challenged in a primary voted against it."

[citation needed] In June 2017, Cartwright was one of three Democrats who joined the 228–195 majority voting to cut off some particular federal grants from cities not agreeing to detentions.

[66] Cartwright criticized the Trump tax cut, saying that it gave taxpayers little relief while adding huge sums to the national debt.

4092; 113th Congress), a bill that would require the United States Department of Energy to establish a centralized clearinghouse to disseminate information on federal programs, incentives, and mechanisms for financing energy-efficient retrofits and upgrades at schools.

[76][77] Cartwright argued that "the bill is a strategic and cost-saving investment to relieve the fiscal pressure felt by schools across the country while bringing us closer to energy security."

[84] In October 2018, Cartwright co-authored a Washington Post article proposing a pilot program to examine the effectiveness of non-transferable financial incentives such as certain student loan forgiveness being given to increase organ donation.

[86][87] Cartwright cosponsored a resolution to expel Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene from Congress, suggesting that she "advocated violence against our peers, the Speaker and our government.

[105][106] In 2024, Cartwright was one of 16 Democrats in the House of Representatives to vote to undo President Biden's pause on some weapons shipments to Israel amid a humanitarian crisis in Gaza.