Pennsylvania Senate Race Updates: Voting counts for Bob Casey and David McCormick move into their third day

HARRISBURG, Pa. (WPVI) — The U.S. Senate race in Pennsylvania between Democratic Sen. Bob Casey and Republican challenger David McCormick could help Republicans expand their newfound majority in the House in a state contest that is one of the most expensive in the country this year.

As of Wednesday evening, McCormick led by about 30,000 votes, but a significant number remained uncounted and the race remains too close to call.

The Casey campaign said they are confident he will be re-elected with thousands of provisional ballots still to be counted.

A source told Action News that the McCormick campaign, however, is focusing on some of the ballots that have yet to be counted in Cambria County. They believe those votes will secure his victory.

At Casey’s election night party at a hotel in his hometown of Scranton, Mayor Paige Cognetti, a Casey ally, expressed confidence that Casey would ultimately win once all the votes were counted.

“This could take a few days. We said in 2020 it would take a few days. We have to make sure we have expectations that it might be a little bit,” Cognetti said.

But she told partygoers to go home just before midnight, hoping an outcome would become clear on Wednesday.

Casey also spoke to the crowd, saying, “Every vote will be counted. No matter how long it takes.”

His campaign later released a statement that read in part:

“There are more votes to be counted in areas like Philadelphia and it is important that every legal ballot is counted. If that happens, we are confident the Senator will be re-elected.”

McCormick also addressed his supporters in Pittsburgh on Tuesday night, although he did not declare victory.

“We need leadership, we don’t have it, and we’re going to get it,” he 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 speak – in an attempt to buy Pennsylvania’s. Senate seat.

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.

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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 President-elect Donald Trump a threat to all of them.

McCormick in turn accused Casey of slamming the Biden administration’s border, economic, energy and national security policies that 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 had she become president.

Should McCormick win, he would be part of the red wave responsible for capturing the U.S. Senate.

David Barrett, a professor of political science at Villanova, spoke about the impact of Republicans taking control of the Senate.

“The real premise is that a determined president who wants to do things can very likely do those things if he has strong support, if he has a House and a Senate of his political party,” Barrett explained.

He also said he is not surprised at how close the race is, citing polls that predicted it and advertising.

“I’ve seen a lot of McCormick ads that really, really trashed Senator Casey, and I felt like Casey didn’t respond in kind enough,” Barrett said.

If the race is decided by half a percentage point or less, it could lead to a recount.