Casey and McCormick are running in a race in Pennsylvania that could help Republicans with their majority

On By Littum

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate race between three-term Democratic Sen. Bob Casey and Republican challenger David McCormick could help Republicans fuel their newfound majority in the chamber in a battleground state competition that is one of the country’s most expensive this year.

McCormick led the vote count early Wednesday morning by about 100,000 votes, or 2%, but a significant number of votes remained uncounted.

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 when all the votes were counted. But she asked partygoers to go home just before midnight, hoping the result would be clear on Wednesday.

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 re-election challenge yet. Casey, 64, is a stalwart of the state Democratic Party, having won six statewide elections dating back to 1996, including serving as state auditor general and treasurer.

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

The race ran on national themes, from abortion rights to inflation. But it also fired up locals, such as Casey’s accusation that McCormick is a rich carpetbagger from ritzy Connecticut ” The Gold Coast ” — a caricature that McCormick helped bring to life by mispronouncing the name of one of Pennsylvania’s local beers — in an attempt to buy the Pennsylvania Senate seat.

Casey also attacked the McCormicks hedge fund daysand accuse him of getting rich at the expense of the United States by investing in Chinese companies that make fentanyl and built Beijing’s military.

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

Casey, a staunch ally of unions and President Joe Biden, has campaigned to preserve the middle class, abortion rightslabor rights and voting rights, McCormick and former President Donald Trump call a threat to all of these.

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McCormick, in turn, accused Casey of rubber-stamping the policies of the Biden administration limitthe economy, energy and national security, which he blames for inflation, domestic unrest and war. He has attacked Casey as a weak, out-of-touch 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 undisputed for their party’s nominations in the primary election.

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.

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