Nov. 7—PHILADELPHIA — David McCormick, the Republican former hedge fund CEO, will get a chance to make good on his pledge to shake up Washington after riding a wave of broad Keystone State support for presidential nominee Donald Trump to defeat three-term incumbent Democratic Sen. Bob Casey.
The Republican had picked up 3,339,133 votes to Mr. Casey’s 3,308,214, when the Associated Press called the race for Mr. McCormick shortly after 4 p.m. on Thursday. The race had remained within a margin of fewer than 40,000 votes as late returns came in from Philadelphia precincts and Cambria County.
Because the margin of Mr. McCormick’s win is less than 0.5%, it would trigger an automatic recount under Pennsylvania law — unless Mr. Casey sends the Department of State a letter requesting the recount not happen.
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Mr. Casey has not conceded the race. “This race is within half a point and cannot be called while the votes of thousands of Pennsylvanians are still being counted,” campaign spokeswoman Maddy McDaniel said. “We will make sure every Pennsylvanian’s voice is heard.”
In most areas, the only remaining ballots to be counted are provisional ballots and overseas/military ballots, which don’t have to be received until Nov. 12.
Pennsylvania Secretary of State Al Schmidt said, “We estimate there are at least 100,000 ballots remaining to be adjudicated, including provisional, military, overseas, and Election Day votes. We urge patience as election workers continue to do this important work, especially in contests where the margins are very close.”
Mr. Casey’s U.S. Senate colleague John Fetterman supported his refusal to concede and criticized the AP for calling the race.
“We still have tens of thousands of votes to be counted across the commonwealth,” Mr. Fetterman, D-Pa., said on X, adding that the Associated Press “shouldn’t make a call in this race until every Pennsylvanian has their vote counted.”
The AP issued an explanation of its decision, saying, “McCormick was leading by more than 30,000 votes when AP called the race at 4:09 p.m., and though there were an estimated 91,000 votes still outstanding, there were not enough in areas supporting Casey for him to make up the difference.”
Mr. Fetterman also criticized liberals who voted for the Green Party senate candidate, Leila Hazou, who garnered over 64,000 votes — more than twice the margin by which Mr. Casey lost.
An Army veteran who served national security and treasury roles in the George W. Bush administration and failed to win a GOP Senate primary two years ago, Mr. McCormick completed an upset against arguably Pennsylvania’s best-known politician in Mr. Casey, other than President Joe Biden.
The closure of the competitive race, which sparked hundreds of millions of dollars in spending on relentless ads, came after Mr. McCormick climbed in the polls in the home stretch, delivering a win that adds to a series of major blows Tuesday to what had been Democrats’ slim majority in the U.S. Senate. Republicans will control the chamber in January.
Mr. Casey had won each of his Senate bids since 2006 by at least 9 points.
Muhlenberg College political science professor Christopher Borick said Mr. Casey always had “the wind at his back” until this year. The senator had shared the ballot with Barack Obama or else ran in off-year elections.
Mr. McCormick, meanwhile, was able to unite both wings of the Pennsylvania Republican Party, he said.
“McCormick was the Goldilocks candidate,” Mr. Borick said. “He didn’t anger the Trump wing but his business background, his military background, gave him appeal to more traditional Republicans.”
Mr. McCormick’s win comes on the heels of Trump, who took a wrecking ball to the Democrats’ vaunted “Blue Wall,” winning Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan.
Mr. McCormick decisively won rural Pennsylvania counties — which continued to be strongholds for Trump — while Mr. Casey handily won Allegheny County, Erie County, Philadelphia and several surrounding suburban counties.
Allegheny County Republican Chairman and Councilman Sam DeMarco welcomed Mr. McCormick’s win, saying the seventh-generation Pennsylvanian “will be a national figure, and Allegheny County will benefit from it. We have a senator who is not only from here, but who acts like it.”
Mr. DeMarco referred to Mr. Casey as “the last of the old dynasty politicians” and said voters preferred Mr. McCormick, “a dynamic young conservative whose message of progress-with-patriotism overcame vicious assaults on a character that proved impervious to attack.”
Mr. Casey is 64. Mr. McCormick is 59.
Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley released a statement on the senator-elect’s victory: “Congratulations to Dave McCormick for his decisive victory in Pennsylvania. As a combat veteran, business leader, and national security expert, the senator-elect will make a great advocate for Americans in the Keystone state and partner for President Trump to Make America Great Again.”
National Republican Senatorial Committee chair Steve Daines, R-Mont., said, “Dave built a best-in-class campaign operation, ended a political dynasty, and will now use his considerable skills to bring bold new leadership to the United States Senate on behalf of all Pennsylvanians. I look forward to working with Dave to secure the border and bring down prices for the American people.”
Senate Leadership Fund President and CEO Steven Law called Mr. McCormick “the living embodiment of Winston Churchill’s maxim, ‘Deserve victory.’ Pennsylvania voters wisely replaced an incumbent who was just marking time with a leader who is going to deliver results for the state and the country,” he said.
Mr. Casey, a Scranton native like his friend Mr. Biden, has served in the chamber since 2007, making him the Pennsylvania congressional delegation’s longest-serving member. The son of a governor, Mr. Casey served as state auditor general and state treasurer before winning his Senate seat by defeating incumbent Republican Sen. Rick Santorum. He then won an unprecedented two more consecutive races.
Mr. McCormick, who sparred feistily with a more stoic Mr. Casey in two debates last month, relentlessly battered the incumbent as a weak, radical liberal whose economic, immigration, trade and foreign policies have undercut the nation’s financial and geopolitical standing.
That message — paired with Trump’s abrasive, bitter yet successful push to cast the Democrats as incompetent “enemies from within” — resonated with Pennsylvania voters looking to rebuke the status quo.
Voters appeared less responsive to Mr. Casey’s significant legislative track record fighting for children, seniors, veterans and Americans with disabilities.
And with the economy a top concern, they appeared swayed by Mr. McCormick’s extensive business experience, his military background and his “underdog” and “political outsider” status — even as Mr. Casey highlighted questionable investments by the Republican’s hedge fund in China and sought to paint Mr. McCormick mostly as a Connecticut-tied benefactor to billionaires.
On abortion — a key issue that’s hurt Republicans in several elections across the country since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade — Mr. McCormick blasted the senator as the biggest flop-flipper in Washington. The Republican said Mr. Casey came to office as a self-described “pro-life Democrat,” and he argued that “Washington changed Bob Casey.”
Mr. McCormick said he would not vote for a national abortion ban — which Democrats believe will be on the table with Trump back in the White House and a GOP-led Senate. He said he supports the three common exceptions of rape, incest and the life of the mother, but Mr. Casey and his allies consistently warned that Mr. McCormick and Republicans would eventually seek a federal ban.
The win for Mr. McCormick also marks a personal turnaround after narrowly losing a GOP Senate primary to celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz two years ago.
Trump endorsed Dr. Oz at the time — after Mr. McCormick refused to say the 2020 election was stolen from Trump — but the former president backed Mr. McCormick this time around, often inviting him to speak at rallies across Pennsylvania in recent months.
The win for the GOP will also balance Pennsylvania’s representation in the Senate, where Mr. McCormick will serve alongside Mr. Fetterman, the Democrat who beat Dr. Oz in 2022.
Mr. McCormick and Mr. Fetterman are divided on a host of issues but are in lock step on strong support for Israel and could likely work together on immigration and border security.
(c)2024 the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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