With social media platforms censoring and de-emphasizing conservatives under Biden, right-leaning Americans can be forgiven for being wary of the media.

So, many conservatives in northeast Pennsylvania find it highly suspicious that upstart Republican congressional candidate Rob Bresnahan last year saw his defeat projected on a local television station – a week before his victory in the former Democrat stronghold.

And ultimately his fiancé, an anchor at the same station, was let go.

“When her contract came up for renewal – she was up just actually as of like, March 9,” he says, she was told “that unless I was to resign the United States House of Representatives, they would not renew her.”

Coincidences? Would all that have happened to a Democrat?

Conservatives rightly wonder.

The graphic on ABC-affiliate WNEP in Scranton – the birthplace of Joe Biden – was one you normally see on Election Day after a race has been called for one of the candidates. In this case, that graphic appeared on the station a week before the election, reportedly for some 12 minutes.

Bresnahan graciously chalks the graphic up to a mistake.

“The explanation that was given was, somebody in the production room had hit the wrong button erroneously and actually broadcast the election results,” he says in a recent interview at the Pennsylvania Leadership Conference.

“I turned my phone on, and I had hundreds of texts saying, ‘Why are you even running? You’re done. The fix is already in.’ It was certainly disheartening to see.”

Pressed by the interviewer, Bresnahan sticks by his assertion the graphic was a blunder by a young, inexperienced staff, not sabotage – noting that “these larger media companies are just propelled to just ‘end of life’ the older generation and hire somebody cheaper, more accessible.”

Despite the station’s early call of his defeat, Bresnahan went on to win Pennsylvania’s 8th Congressional District. He said he “ran on having safe communities and a secure border,” and covered 53,000 miles and knocked on 100,000 doors.

A native of Kingston, Pennsylvania, Bresnahan is a veteran of the family’s Kuharchik Construction firm, but a political novice.

“I was a heavy highway electrical contractor. I never ran for anything before, not even dog catcher. I was past president of the SPCA of Luzerne County, but I never ran for a public office. Nobody in my family ever ran for an office.”

Setting up his new congressional office and pivoting briskly to constituent services, Bresnahan nonetheless noticed how quickly he started taking hostile fire just weeks into his first elected office.

“I mean, I was in office for 16 days, and they were already running negative ads about me on TV, about RFK.”

In particular, Bresnahan and other Republicans were falsely accused of wanting to cut Medicaid.

Bresnahan says he’s adapted to the machine-gun spray of modern political warfare, but acknowledges “it’s tough on the family.”

“I know who I am. I can look at myself in the mirror. I know why I’m doing this every single day. But sometimes when it’s your 89-year-old grandmother who is at the grocery store, and she’s approached or stopped and [gets told] ‘I can’t believe your grandson is doing that!’ …”

Of course, the shelling from the left flank started well before he took office – and his news anchor fiancé had a front-row seat to it all.

“Even during the campaign, when we were dating and ultimately got engaged … she would have to watch the ads, and it would be about how horrible I am, with this horrible-looking face. And I remember she texted me one day, she’s like, ‘You know, I can just put a pillow over your face if I thought you were that bad.’

“But, you know, that’s who it’s tough on.”