Pennsylvania politics is making strange bedfellows in the U.S. Senate race.
On Friday, three-term incumbent U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-Pa.) released a new TV ad touting his support for Republican Donald Trump’s trade policy and criticizing Democrat Joe Biden’s stance on fracking.
“Casey bucked Biden to protect fracking, and he sided with Trump to end NAFTA and put tariffs on China to stop them from cheating,” the ad says.
Ads from Democrats praising Trump — who Casey has called a “threat to our democracy” — are rare in this election cycle, particularly in a state where Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris is trailing in the polls. Harris is trailing Trump in Pennsylvania by just half a point in the latest RealClearPolitics polling average. However, she has only led in three of the last ten polls tracked by RCP.
“Democrats Throw Kamala Under The Bus,” was the reaction from the national Trump campaign. “Democrats subtly knife Kamala as they see the writing on the wall,” Trump campaign Rapid Response Director Jake Schneider said in a press release.
“It’s not exactly the behavior you’d expect from candidates who believe their nominee is winning,” Schneider added. “In Pennsylvania, leftist scumbag Bob Casey is boasting about President Trump’s support for American workers.”
The Dave McCormick campaign isn’t impressed.
“Another sign of desperation from flailing career politician Bob Casey 18 days out from Election Day,” said Elizabeth Gregory, spokesperson for Casey’s GOP opponent. “Casey’s a weak liberal who embodies the failed status quo, and Pennsylvanians know it’s time for a change and are going to elect Dave McCormick to be their next Senator.”
Political observers took note of the new Casey ad.
“New ad from Bob Casey hugs Trump. For the first time. I think his polling must say the same thing our polling says,” Virginia-based GOP strategist Brad Todd posted on social media.
Longtime Pennsylvania-based Republican political operative Vince Galko wondered if the ad is a sign that Casey is distancing himself from Harris.
“We need to remember Senator Casey voted to impeach President Trump twice and now he is spending campaign donations on ad that essentially says Trump is not so bad. It is probably sound strategy by Casey but an ominous sign for the Democratic ticket,” he told DVJournal.
Democrats portrayed the ad as a way for Casey to separate himself from the White House.
“Most Americans and a disproportionate number of Independents relieve there should be more cooperation in government, that one side has possession of all the good ideas,” T.J. Rooney, Tri State Strategies PA founder and president, told DVJournal. “Increasingly, voters are rejecting the all-or-nothing propositions government presents. For undecided voters, collaboration represents progress.”
“It’s a good ad,” Philadelphia-based Democratic strategist Neil Oxman quipped to DVJournal. “It’s better than a lot of the other ads that are out there.”
Despite the ad’s promise that he’s an independent, FiveThirtyEight reported Casey voted with the Biden-Harris administration’s position 98.5 percent of the time.
Oxman said typical voters don’t follow how often a U.S. Senator votes for or against whoever’s in the White House.
“This is persuasion. There’s a difference between intellectual honesty and persuasion. The object is to persuade. And this is not a bad way to do it,” he said.
