A jubilant Dave McCormick celebrated his upset victory over U.S. Sen. Bob Casey Jr. (D-Pa.).
The Associated Press called the race for McCormick on Thursday.
“We knew on Election Night we had won because the math was clear. There’s no way for Senator Casey to win,” The Republican Senator-elect said at a rally in Pittsburgh on Friday.
McCormick’s lead over Casey is about half a percentage point, in unofficial returns.
Casey has yet to concede, however. His campaign argued that all the votes have yet to be counted, specifically provisional ballots in Philadelphia.
“Reminder: there are at least 100K ballots left to count,” Casey campaign spokesperson Maddy McDaniel posted on social media.
Casey later said Friday all votes needed to be counted because Pennsylvania “is the birthplace of our democracy.”
McCormick sympathized with Casey on the close Election Day loss. McCormick pointed out his 900-vote loss to Dr. Mehmet Oz in the 2022 GOP primary for U.S. Senate. He noted that Casey is “going to have to work through” his feelings about only his second election loss in 22 years.
But McCormick added it was time to “move on” and put the focus on the country’s direction. “There’s a mandate for change. That’s where my attention starts today,” he said.
It’s a race that long held the attention of the national Republican Party, and yet another feather in its cap from an excellent showing on Election Day. The GOP won the White House and flipped the U.S. Senate. It’s also believed they have the upper hand in retaining control of the House.
To that end, McCormick said President-elect Donald Trump has put together a huge agenda for the next four years. It’s expected to focus on lowering inflation, increasing border security, and reducing fentanyl deaths.
He called the issues “problems for everybody.” McCormick promised to work with state Republicans and Democrats on solutions – name-checking Pennsylvania Democrats like U.S. Sen. John Fetterman and Gov. Josh Shapiro.
One issue that McCormick seemed to position himself as leader on is energy. He called on the government to get rid of red tape and “streamline the permitting process” for energy projects in the Keystone State. McCormick encouraged the state to further embrace the power of natural gas, but also other forms of energy.
“[Let’s] make sure Pennsylvania not only becomes the most dynamic economy in our great country, but also creates these great paying jobs for every single Pennsylvanian,” he said.
McCormick’s win over Casey is one of the bigger upsets of this year’s election cycle. He trailed by 13 points in the polls before Labor Day. Polls tightened to within the margin of error by mid-September, but Casey was also expected to win.
Voters apparently felt otherwise.
There are still provisional and absentee ballots that need to be counted, particularly in Philadelphia County. That’s caused outlets like DecisionDeskHQ and the New York Times to wait before anointing McCormick the winner.
McCormick’s team quickly filed an injunction against the Philadelphia County Board of Elections, arguing that GOP representatives must be present for provisional ballot review to ensure fair oversight. They raised concerns about the large number of Democratic representatives involved in the process.
“Plaintiff is concerned that … adjudication of the ballots will occur in such a fashion as to preclude Plaintiff, the Republican Party and/or their respective authorized representatives from exercising their rights…” McCormick’s attorneys wrote in court documents obtained by Democracy Docket.
They’ve asked a judge to issue an injunction to make sure the GOP has representatives to observe the ballot counting.
McCormick doesn’t foresee the results changing, despite the legal maneuvers.
“I think it’s indisputable there’s no path to victory [for Casey].”
