Pennsylvania Senate race between Bob Casey, Dave McCormick too close to project winner
Days after the 2024 election, the race for one of Pennsylvania's two U.S. Senate seats still has yet to be decided.
Sen. Bob Casey is vying for a fourth term against challenger and businessman Dave McCormick in what has become an extremely close race.
As of Thursday, votes are still being counted and the race between Casey and McCormick remains a toss-up.
"Yesterday, the vote margin shrunk by 50,000 votes and this race is now within half a point, the threshold for automatic recounts in Pennsylvania," a spokesperson for Casey's Senate campaign said Thursday. "With tens of thousands more votes to be counted, we are committed to ensuring every Pennsylvanian's vote is heard and confident that at the end of that process, Senator Casey will be re-elected."
Meanwhile, McCormick's campaign remains confident he will be elected.
"McCormick is up 30,679 votes with more to come, as ruby red Cambria County is still outstanding. While votes continue to be counted, any way you slice it, Dave McCormick will be the next United States Senator from Pennsylvania," said Elizabeth Gregory, McCormick's communications director.
According to the Pennsylvania Department of State, unofficial results between two candidates in a statewide contest between 0.5% triggers an automatic recount.
Pennsylvania's Secretary of State Al Schmidt said on X Thursday around 5 p.m. that "there are at least 100,000 ballots remaining to be adjudicated, including provisional, military, overseas, and Election Day votes."
He did not mention any specific races but urged patience as workers continue to count votes, "especially in contests where the margins are very close."
In a statement Thursday around 7:15 p.m., Casey said, "I have dedicated my life to making sure Pennsylvanians' voices are heard, whether on the floor of the Senate or in a free and fair election. It has been made clear there are more than 100,000 votes still to be counted. Pennsylvania is where our democratic process was born. We must allow that process to play out and ensure that every vote that is eligible to be counted will be counted. That is what Pennsylvania deserves."
At an election night party in Pittsburgh, McCormick told supporters "It looks like we're headed in a very good direction." Early results had McCormick with a slight lead over Casey the morning after Election Day.
This is McCormick's second run for the Senate after losing to Dr. Mehmet Oz in the 2022 Republican primary. Oz lost the general election to U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, Pennsylvania's other senator.
McCormick, who was born in Washington, Pennsylvania, and raised in Bloomsburg, was CEO of Bridgewater Associates, the world's largest hedge fund, sat on former President Donald Trump's Defense Advisory Board and served in top positions under President George W. Bush.
Casey, who has been in the Senate since 2007, is a Scranton native, a former state auditor general and treasurer.
In their final debate, the candidates disagreed on clean energy policy, gun laws and abortion rights and sparred over their respective records. They did agree on one topic — U.S. support for Israel, with both saying Israel is in the best position to decide how to confront its adversaries.
Throughout the campaign, Casey focused on "greedflation" — the idea that corporations raise prices faster than inflation to maximize profits — and reproductive rights.
McCormick, meanwhile, accused Casey of flip-flopping on his stance on abortion and being a career politician who is closely aligned with other Democratic politicians. McCormick said he believes abortion should be left to voters in each state and wants to rein in government spending and crack down on illegal immigration.
Follow rolling coverage of the 2024 election from CBS News Philadelphia here.
The Associated Press contributed to the report.
