Bob Casey, Dave McCormick Pennsylvania Senate Race Too Close to Call

HARRISBURG, Pa. (WPVI) — Pennsylvania‘S US Senate The race between Democratic Sen. Bob Casey and Republican challenger David McCormick in a state contest that is one of the most expensive in the country this year is still too close to call.

McCormick took the stage to speak to supporters as voters were still being counted. He struck an optimistic tone while acknowledging that election night wasn’t quite over yet.

“It looks like we’re going in the right direction,” McCormick said.

Casey said nothing, but spokesperson Maddy McDaniel issued a statement saying:

“We are confident in our path to victory and we are going to make sure we count every vote,” McDaniel said.

Casey, perhaps Pennsylvania’s best-known politician and the son of a former two-term governor, is seeking a fourth term after facing what he has called his toughest reelection challenge yet. Casey, 64, is a staunch supporter of the state’s Democratic Party. He has won six statewide elections dating back to 1996, including serving as the state auditor general and treasurer.

McCormick, 59, is making his second run for Senate after narrowly losing to Dr. in the 2022 Republican primary. Mehmet Oz. He left his job as CEO of the world’s largest hedge fund after serving at the highest levels of former President George W. Bush’s administration and serving on Trump’s Defense Advisory Council.

The race revolved around national issues, from abortion rights to inflation. But it also targeted local beers, such as Casey’s accusation that McCormick is a wealthy carpet dealer from Connecticut’s ritzy “Gold Coast”—a caricature that McCormick helped bring to life by mispronouncing the name of one of Pennsylvania’s local beers speaking – in an attempt to buy Pennsylvania’s beer. Senate seat.

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Casey also attacked McCormick’s hedge fund days, accusing him of getting rich at America’s expense by investing in Chinese companies that make fentanyl and built Beijing’s military.

McCormick, in turn, emphasized his seventh-generation roots in Pennsylvania, recounting his high school years, wrestling in northern Pennsylvania towns — a sport that took him to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point — and his time in online auction house FreeMarkets Inc. ., which had its name on a skyscraper in Pittsburgh during the technology boom.

Casey, a staunch ally of labor unions and President Joe Biden, has campaigned on preserving the middle class, abortion rights, labor rights and voting rights, calling McCormick and former President Donald Trump a threat to all of them.

McCormick, in turn, accused Casey of undermining the Biden administration’s border, economic, energy and national security policies, which he blames for inflation, civil unrest and war. He has attacked Casey as a weak, excessive career politician and a sure bet to fall in line with Vice President Kamala Harris if she becomes president.

Democrats currently hold a majority in the Senate by the narrowest of margins.

Both Casey and McCormick were uncontested because of their party’s nominations in the primaries.

Also on the Nov. 5 Senate ballot are John Thomas of the Libertarian Party, Leila Hazou of the Green Party and Marty Selker of the Constitution Party.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.