DV Journal

At a recent congressional hearing on antisemitism at elite U.S. colleges, terrorism expert Dr. Jonathan Schanzer called the University of Pennsylvania “probably the worst campus I’ve seen.”

In response to questions from U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Bucks), Schanzer said, “It is embarrassing to me, as a son of Philadelphia and as a Jew, to see this happening. It is unbelievable that it’s happening in America, for that matter.”

And now the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights (OCR) is opening an investigation into the University of Pennsylvania’s handling of antisemitic and Islamophobic occurrences on its campus.

Jewish organizations were worried by UPenn’s decision to welcome the Palestine Writes Festival just before Yom Kippur and near a building where Jewish students were going to pray. Among the speakers at the Palestine Writes Festival was noted antisemite Roger Waters of Pink Floyd fame.

The Hillel building was then vandalized by a person yelling antisemitic slurs.

In the wake of the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas terrorists, the situation has gotten worse, Schanzer said.

“You have a speaker at Penn against the occupation, a rally praising Hamas for a job well done on 10/7. We have at Penn’s AEPi house, someone scribbled the message ‘Jews are Nazis.’ The Hillel was broken into. The Chabad was vandalized. A swastika was drawn on an academic building. We’re watching protests where they’re calling for Palestine from the river to the sea. This is calling for the destruction of the State of Israel. They’re calling for an intifada, a violent uprising. There’s a vigil and a walkout to honor the Palestinian martyrs, those who are killed fighting against Israel. And then, finally, a faculty Senate statement was published that was really, I think, the end message was that the university should not cave to Jewish donors who are demanding change. This is unbelievable that it’s taking place at Penn. It’s unbelievable that it’s taking place in America, and it’s just a microcosm of what we’re watching across the country.”

Several prominent donors withdrew their funding from the university, and alumni wrote letters protesting the university’s lack of action to stop the antisemitic hate speech.

On Nov. 1, Penn President Liz Magill announced a task force to work on the problem, with increased security and education. She said steps would be taken to stop antisemitism.

On Nov.  8, holographic images with antisemitic slurs were projected on Penn buildings. Last week, signs appeared on benches around the Penn campus, similar to the signs with Israeli hostages, except the pictures were of cows.

Steve Silverman, a spokesman for Penn, sent this statement: “We have received the letter from the Department of Education and look forward to cooperating fully with the department. The university is taking clear and comprehensive action to prevent, address, and respond to antisemitism, with an action plan anchored in the National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism. President Magill has made clear antisemitism is vile and pernicious and has no place at Penn;  the university will continue to vigilantly combat antisemitism and all forms of hate.”

Penn is one of several universities around the country that the OCR is investigating for antisemitism, including Cornell University and Columbia University, after receiving complaints about alleged incidents of antisemitism and Islamophobia.

The investigations include five antisemitism cases and two Islamophobia cases.

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dave McCormick is calling out incumbent Sen. Bob Casey (D) over his past support for the Iran deal and his silence on new cash the Biden administration is allowing to go to the Islamist republic.

During a podcast interview with DVJournal, McCormick reiterated his support for Israel and its military response to the Hamas terrorist attack launched from Gaza.

“The attack on Israel was evil in its purest form, absolute barbarism,” said McCormick, who served in the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division during the Gulf War.

“And it’s been a test, really,” he said. “And that test, well, many have failed the test with moral ambiguity. You see that with college presidents (and) with some members of Congress. I think even Sen. Casey has been very weak on this compared to, ironically, Sen. (John) Fetterman, who has taken a much stronger stance.”

“So it’s really important that we stand tall with both the moral clarity of what happened and our support for Israel. And so we must support Israel. We support it with the intelligence, with military capability it needs, but also with moral clarity.

“In one form or another, there needs to be a path to support for Israel. And that support can’t be held up for any reason,” said McCormick.

He also assailed the ongoing protests and antisemitic incidents on college campuses around the country, including in the Delaware Valley.

“I think what’s happened on our college campuses since the horrific attack on Israel, the barbarism, (is) an eye-opener,” said McCormick. “I mean, it has been an absolute eye-opener. Because it’s been explicit antisemitism. But more than that, it’s been a reflection of the fact that American institutions of higher education, the Ivy Leagues in particular, but generally speaking, have lost their way.”

He added, “The lack of moral clarity on the difference between right and wrong, the difference between merit and not merit. The difference between America and the exceptional contribution it’s made to the world, the uniqueness of America, with all its faults, which is still undeniably the greatest country in the history of the world in terms of bringing people out of poverty.

“The lack of clarity on that, the hijacking of all that’s great about our country, I mean we saw it all. It’s not just the antisemitism. Of course, the antisemitism is horrific and indefensible. But it’s part of a broader thing where all the basic assumptions about what made our country and our society the greatest in the world are under siege,” said McCormick.

“And so I hope that this terrible turn of events, we can have some good happen,” said McCormick. “Which is, you see a lot of people, people in the finance community, people in general, a lot of Jewish Americans pulling back and saying, ‘Oh my Lord, I want no affiliation with what I’m seeing. Those are not my people.’ And I think this is showing a huge division within the Democratic party…

“What person who is a clear-thinking person could look at those people protesting and chanting ‘Death to Israel’ and say, ‘Those are the people that are in my party.’ So, this is hopefully an inflection point of a recalibration of our institutions of higher education. I’d like to see some people get fired, to be honest with you.”

Asked if that includes University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill, who has been criticized as slow to act as antisemitic incidents on campus mounted, McCormick replied, “Of course. Anybody who showed in this moment of crisis that they couldn’t step up and be clear about good and bad, evil versus not evil, I think is not qualified to lead.”

National Republicans are targeting Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey over his votes to prop up the Islamic government of Iran, which is widely believed to be a sponsor of terrorist groups, including Hamas.

“Senate Democrats sent our tax dollars to Iran, which used that money to bankroll terrorist groups like Hamas. As the nation witnesses the unfolding conflict in the Middle East, one thing is certain: these senators can’t be trusted to keep America safe,” said National Republican Senate Campaign spokesman Philip Letsou.

The ad references a 2015 vote cast by Casey to uphold the so-called “Iran Deal” brokered by President Barack Obama that sent billions of dollars to the terror-sponsoring nation. The results of the deal immediately benefited Tehran.

“The Obama administration secretly arranged a plane delivery of $400 million in cash on the same day Iran…formally implemented the nuclear deal,” CNN reported. “The money was flown into Iran on wooden pallets stacked with Swiss francs, euros, and other currencies.”

Casey, who is seeking reelection in 2024, said he has stiffened his stance toward Iran. He touts his reversal of support for President Joe Biden’s allowing $6 billion in funds to be released to Iran. Casey now wants the funding refrozen in light of the Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

“These funds should remain frozen until we can determine whether Iran played a role in the attack and what the appropriate U.S. response should be,” Casey said.

For Republicans, it looks like politics at work, not a policy to contain Iran and its pro-terrorism policies.

Republican Dave McCormick, who is challenging the Pennsylvania Democrat in 2024, said on X, “The United States must work with our allies to use every tool at our disposal to constrain Iran’s ability to support its terrorist proxies.”

On Oct. 9, McCormick wrote a letter to Casey asking him to tell Biden to keep that $6 billion out of the hands of the Iranian regime.

“I call on you to join me in urging President Biden to block Iran’s access to $6 billion in recently unfrozen assets,” McCormick wrote to Casey. “And if President Biden will not do this, I call on you to introduce legislation to put a hold on these funds.”

In the same letter, McCormick asked Casey to help stop the flow of Iranian oil to China and others that provide “a lifeline to the regime,” allowing it to garner billions.

“The administration must fully implement U.S. sanctions on Iran, especially in the energy sector, to force Tehran to make difficult decisions about support to its terrorist proxies,” McCormick wrote.

According to the Republican Jewish Coalition, Casey has a record of being soft on Iran.

That group said Casey “did not support legislation to impose sanctions on Iran and Hamas that would have stopped money from flowing into terrorist coffers. On three occasions in 2015, he voted to approve the Obama administration’s nuclear deal, lifting sanctions on Iran and giving it access to billions of dollars. Some of that money funded Hamas’ training and arming for last month’s attack.

“Mr. Casey did not support the Palestinian International Terrorism Support Prevention Act of 2021, which would have imposed sanctions on Hamas. That bill would have denied terrorist groups access to loans or credit guaranteed by American financial institutions and penalized foreign countries that gave money to Hamas.

“In 2019, Mr. Casey criticized Israel for barring Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib from visiting. In addition, Mr. Casey failed to support the Combating BDS Acts of 2021 and 2023. These bills would have allowed state and local governments to divest from entities that support the boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement. The movement seeks to delegitimize Israel and destroy it through economic and diplomatic means,” the coalition said.

When it comes to standing with Israel in the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attack, Sen. John Fetterman may be closer to Republican Dave McCormick than his fellow Democrat, Sen. Bob Casey.

“Innocent Israelis were the victims of a terrorist attack that resulted in the largest loss of Jewish lives since the Holocaust. Now we know that the tragedy at the Gaza hospital was not caused by Israel,” Fetterman posted on X.

“Now is not the time to talk about a ceasefire. We must support Israel in efforts to eliminate the Hamas terrorists who slaughtered innocent men, women, and children. Hamas does not want peace; they want to destroy Israel. We can talk about a ceasefire after Hamas is neutralized.” Fetterman added.

McCormick, who is running against Casey, replied to Fetterman, “Thank you, Senator Fetterman, for your leadership on this. It’s a shame Pennsylvania’s other senator sits silent and won’t criticize his own party.”

McCormick, a West Point graduate, and Gulf War combat veteran, said on Fox Business Thursday, “We are at a critical moment of weakness, in terms of how the world sees us, and risk. We see it with China. We see it with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. We see it with this horrible, barbaric invasion. This isn’t war. These were war crimes that were prosecuted against Israel.

“And it’s time for strength and resolve from our leadership,” McCormick added. “We need moral clarity. We, as Americans, need to stand by our closest ally, Israel, with all the military support and intelligence support they need to prosecute the war.

“We need to tighten the noose around Iran,” McCormick said. “If it was ever a question that Iran was a threat to America and a threat to Israel, that question has been resolved.”

Casey did not post his thoughts regarding the Palestinian Jihad missile strike on the Gaza hospital until 10 p.m. Wednesday.

“In the 11 days since Hamas brutally attacked Israel, we’ve seen abhorrent statements from college students to elected officials blaming Israel for the murderous actions of Hamas. The United States stands with Israel as it responds to this attack by working to destroy Hamas,” Casey tweeted. “We cannot ignore the massive and urgent humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Millions of Palestinian civilians are going without water, medical supplies, or power, and hundreds of thousands have been displaced.

“In the coming days, the administration will request funding that will include resources for Israel to defend itself and destroy Hamas, as well as humanitarian aid to help civilians at risk. Congress has an obligation to pass this, and robust funding for Ukraine, immediately.”

Another Pennsylvania lawmaker, Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pittsburgh), has joined a group of progressive lawmakers in calling for Congress to support a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war. Lee is a co-sponsor of the Ceasefire Now Resolution that urges an “immediate de-escalation and ceasefire in Israel and ‘occupied’ Palestine.” Other sponsors include Reps. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.).

“We’re all being tested. We see our university presidents being tested, and many of them failing,” McCormick said. “We see members of Congress being tested, and many of them failing without moral clarity. And in this particular case, my opponent, Sen. Casey, has not demonstrated moral clarity, and I called him out on that because it’s important that our leaders stand up and make it clear that this was a barbaric act against Israel and we need to stand by our ally.”

A spokesperson for Casey did not respond to requests for comment.

Please follow DVJournal on social media:Twitter@DVJournal or Facebook.com/DelawareValleyJournal

To improve voter turnout, Republicans are now embracing mail-in ballots, an innovation Democrats readily adopted.

Party leaders hope to combat skepticism among the rank and file by touting mail-in voting to ensure their voters can vote no matter what happens on Election Day.

In a press phone call on Tuesday, Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel said the new program, Bank Your Vote, is needed, using a sports analogy.

“We can all agree you don’t want your football team to start scoring in the fourth quarter and think you’re going to win the game. We all know there’s no longer just an election day. There’s an election season,” McDaniel said.

Pennsylvania GOP Chair Lawrence Tabas said the 2023 election is “critical,” with statewide judicial races and municipal and school board races.

“You have until Oct. 31 at 5 p.m. to apply for (a mail-in) ballot,” said Tabas. He said the Pennsylvania GOP has been closing the voter gap and now stands at 235,000. “We’re committed that winning in ’23 is the path to winning in ’24.”

“Bank Your Vote is a crucial step,” Tabas said.

Dave McCormick, the endorsed Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, said, “The stakes are high.”

“With inflation from gas to groceries, Keystone State families are suffering from high inflation of a 20 percent rise in prices under the failed leadership of (President) Joe Biden and (Sen.) Bob Casey and that’s hurting all Pennsylvanians. But it’s hurting elders on fixed incomes. It’s hurting working families. As a result of this, Pennsylvania remains in the worst half of states for unemployment rates. And this is also killing small business owners.”

Treasurer Stacy Garrity, who will be running for reelection in 2024 and was also recently endorsed by the party, also urged people to bank their votes.

It helps so “life doesn’t get in the way.”

“We also need our most reliable voters to vote before election day to help our Republican candidates know who voted,” said Garrity. That pre-voting saves campaigns money that they won’t have to spend sending out mailings and reminders, so they can use it to target infrequent voters or independent voters.

The DVJournal asked how the GOP can reassure skeptical voters that their votes are secure if they use mail-in ballots.

McDaniel said in 2022, 80,000 poll workers were recruited nationwide who were there not just on election day but throughout the voting period.

“On top of that, we have a robust team of election integrity lawyers that are being deployed to the states. Pennsylvania already has some in place that are on the ground working with the counties to make sure that we know they’re going to administer the elections and making sure that’s being done,” she said. “And we can take decisive action quickly to protect your vote.”

Echoing Garrity, she said, “We cannot afford to chase ballots all the way through Election Day…We have to get these ballots in earlier.”

Tabas said a system was in place to track mail-in ballots. If a voter contacts their county party and says they did not get their ballot or their confirmation, “We’re on top of that,” he said.

Another question asked concerned “curing” ballots or allowing voters to fix mistakes, which has differed from county to county in the past.

Tabas blamed the courts for that discrepancy and said it was important for every county to operate under the same rules.

“Pennsylvania has to be assured that there are uniform rules so that if they’re counting your ballot anywhere in the commonwealth, it will be counted on the same basis, no matter where you live. Your ZIP code shouldn’t determine how your ballot ends up getting counted.”

Asked why the party has had a “change of heart” regarding mail-in ballots, McDaniel said it was necessary to adopt them to be competitive.

“This is a 2023, 2024 strategy that’s going to go on in the future and will result in big victories for Republicans in Pennsylvania,” said Tabas.

Please follow DVJournal on social media: Twitter@DVJournal or Facebook.com/DelawareValleyJournal

The Republican National Committee and the Pennsylvania GOP are launching a major push to get their voters to send in their ballots early, something Republican voters have been reluctant to do.

“The Republican Party of Pennsylvania’s partnership with the RNC is stronger than ever. We are thrilled to launch Pennsylvania Bank Your Vote together to ensure that Keystone State Republicans maximize every legal voting method to secure victories up and down the ballot in 2023 and 2024,” said Republican Party of Pennsylvania Chairman Lawrence Tabas.

Ahead of 2024, the Bank Your Vote operation is leveraging the full infrastructure of the RNC, the Republican Party of Pennsylvania, and our historic investments in our data-driven ground game to encourage, educate, and activate Republican voters on when, where, and how to lock in their votes as early as possible.

In addition to staff and our statewide volunteer network, Pennsylvania will have a state-specific voter resource page at  PA.BankYourVote.com, which will include important dates, pre-Election Day voting processes, links to state government sites where voters can learn more about voting early, and options for voters to sign up to receive digital reminders for pre-Election Day voting options.

“To beat Joe Biden and Pennsylvania Democrats like Bob Casey in 2024, we must ensure that Republicans bank as many pre-Election Day votes as possible. The RNC is proud to work with Republican leaders across the state to encourage voters to Bank Your Vote and deliver Republican victories up and down the ballot next November,” said RNC Chairman Ronna McDaniel.

One Republican who, polls show, will need all the help he can get is GOP U.S. Senate candidate Dave McCormick. Ousting a three-term incumbent like Casey is never easy, and that’s the job he’ll have if he’s the GOP nominee.

“The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania needs battle-tested leaders at the local, state and federal level to get our country back on track,” McCormick said. “Together with the RNC and the PAGOP, we will ensure that Pennsylvania voters know how to express their right to vote early so that we can end the weak and failed leadership of Bob Casey and Joe Building on our absentee return rate, early in-person voting, and ballot harvesting success in 2022, Republicans must now improve on our overall number of pre-Election Day voters to ultimately secure victory in 2024.

“A crucial part of getting Republican voters to become pre-Election Day voters will be ensuring voter confidence in Pennsylvania’s elections through our continued Protect Your Vote efforts. In 2022, we had over 5,000 Poll Watcher shifts and over 600 Election Judge and Inspector (poll worker) shifts across the commonwealth in the midterm election.”

Republican state treasurer Stacy Garrity is also on board.

“Pennsylvanians cannot afford four more years of Joe Biden. That’s why I’m partnering with the RNC and PAGOP on ‘Bank Your Vote’ to inform and equip Republicans on when, where, and how to ‘bank’ their vote before Election Day.”

Students at area colleges are sending messages supporting the same Palestinian cause championed by the Hamas terrorists who killed more than 1,000 Israelis in Saturday’s horrific attack. It’s a sign, Republicans say, of the far-left extremism that makes up part of the progressive base of the Democratic Party.

While most Pennsylvania elected officials, including Democrats Gov. Josh Shapiro and progressive U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, loudly declared their support for Israel and denounced the violence from the Palestinian terrorists, liberal student groups sent a very different message.

“We…hold the Israeli government accountable for the ongoing violence,” announced student organizations at Philadelphia’s La Salle University. “The events occurring are not isolated; for the past two decades, millions of Palestinians in Gaza have been forced to live in open-air prisons. Israeli authorities have threatened to escalate the conflict, resulting in casualties in Gaza. In the days ahead, Palestinians will face the brunt of Israel’s aggression, and the blame solely lies with the apartheid regime.”

In Delaware County,  Swarthmore College’s Students for Justice in Palestine posted a statement that “honors the martyrs” who murdered Israelis, raped women, and took children hostage.

“Since early Saturday morning, Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank have valiantly confronted the imperial apparatus that has constricted their livelihoods for the past 75 years. In an unprecedented violation of Zionist intelligence and military rule, the resistance [Hamas terrorists] broke its people out of the open-air prison that is the Gaza Strip.

“Swarthmore Students for Justice in Palestine enshrines the right of the Palestinian people to resist the Zionist regime by any means necessary and honors the martyrs who have sacrificed their lives for liberation,” the Swarthmore students posted on social media.

That statement inspired a response from Dave McCormick, a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate.

“This is despicable. Glorifying Hamas terrorists who have slaughtered innocent women and children as ‘martyrs’ is unacceptable. @swarthmore: Step up, demonstrate leadership, and condemn these disgusting comments immediately,” McCormick tweeted.

Swarthmore officials did not respond to a request for comment.

The anti-Israel response appears to be part of the culture of elite, liberal universities. For example, local supporters of Israel quickly pointed out that UPenn hosted a Palestinian Writers Festival last month featuring several openly antisemitic participants. Among them, Roger Waters of Pink Floyd and Noura Erakat, a Rutgers University professor who called Zionism a “bedfellow” to Nazism.

Radio talk show host Dom Giordano said the leadership of those institutions is partially to blame for their students’ attitudes. “I think the position of the La Salle groups that supported this is indefensible. La Salle has a teachable moment to address this or support it with their silence. They should have a forum for faculty and students to discuss.”

La Salle University, a Catholic institution, posted a statement that conflated the violent attack committed by Hamas terrorists with Israel’s self-defensive actions in response.

“Over the weekend, the world witnessed the sudden violence taking place throughout Israel and Gaza. The reports, images, and videos we are seeing in the news and social media are disturbing and anguishing,” the university wrote. “We pray for peace in this part of the world and for those touched by this violence while we mourn the loss of life.”

Those views are hardly exclusive to Pennsylvania institutions.

When 35 Harvard student groups released a letter of solidarity with the Palestinians of Gaza (“We hold the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence”), several high-profile alums reacted in horror.

Former Harvard president Larry Summers, who previously served as U.S. treasury secretary, decried the university’s “neutral” stance in response to the student declaration. “I am sickened. I cannot fathom the administration’s failure to disassociate the university and condemn this statement,” Summers said.

At New York University Law School, the student bar association president released a statement standing with the terrorists.

“I will not condemn Palestinian resistance,” wrote Ryna Workman, who called the terrorist attacks “necessary.” Instead, “I condemn the violence of obfuscating genocide as a ‘complex issue.’”

At the University of Virginia, the Students for Justice in Palestine said, “The events that took place yesterday are a step toward a free Palestine. They reflect the power and resilience of the Palestinian people in the face of 75 years of continued brutal oppression…We stand in solidarity with Palestinian resistance fighters.”

Students at California State University at Long Beach made the most graphic statement with posters portraying a paraglider like the ones used by Hamas terrorists to attack an outdoor concert and kill hundreds.

“We will be rallying and marching in support of the Palestinian liberation and against Zionist occupation in Palestine,” the student group said.

Dave McCormick hopes the second time is a charm.

McCormick, who ran for the U.S. Senate in 2022 and lost by fewer than 1,000 votes to Dr. Mehmet Oz in the GOP primary, announced Thursday in Pittsburgh that he is running again, this time to take on three-term Democrat Sen. Bob Casey Jr.

“Under Joe Biden and Bob Casey, what’s supposed to be up is down, and what’s supposed to be down is up. We can and must do better,” McCormick said in his announcement. “We cannot lose our country. We cannot lose our culture. We cannot accept the status quo.

“When Joe Biden says ‘vote,’ Bob Casey says ‘which way?’” McCormick added.

Even before he announced, McCormick, 58, garnered the endorsement of Americans for Prosperity Action, a PAC affiliated with the free market organization Americans for Prosperity. And the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) greeted McCormick’s announcement as good news.

“Dave McCormick has done a remarkable job of unifying the grassroots in Pennsylvania,” said NRSC chairman Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) “A graduate of West Point, combat veteran, and Pennsylvania job creator, Dave is exactly the type of candidate who can win both a primary and a general election in one of the most competitive states in the country. It’s great news that Dave is stepping up to serve our country once again.”

National Republicans are hoping the Pennsylvania GOP can rally around McCormick’s candidacy and avoid an ugly primary, one that might result in yet another flawed general election candidate like Oz or 2022 gubernatorial nominee, state Sen. Doug Mastriano. On Monday, Mastriano told conservative news outlet Real America’s Voice, “It’s time to unify. If [McCormick] is our nominee, I’m backing him.”

McCormick’s candidacy is particularly important because it is in a state like Ohio, Montana, and West Virginia, where Trump is expected to do well if he is the Republican presidential nominee next year. All four of those states have incumbent Democratic senators seeking reelection, and the GOP just needs to flip two to win the majority.

Democrats clearly see McCormick as a serious threat, and they wasted no time going on the attack.

“Pennsylvania leaders speak out against Connecticut mega-millionaire David McCormick,” screamed the headline of one of several press releases fired off by the Pennsylvania Democratic Party Thursday.

“We know that this person is a Connecticut resident. If you want to run for U.S. Senate, go to Connecticut to run for U.S. Senate,” said state Sen. Jay Costa (D-Pittsburgh). “Don’t come to be a carpetbagger here in Pennsylvania.”

In fact, McCormick was born in Washington, Pa., and grew up in Bloomsburg. After being awarded a Bronze Star for his service in the Persian Gulf War and earning a Ph.D. in international relations from Princeton, he returned to Pennsylvania and worked in Pittsburgh.

“I definitely have strong feelings about Dave McCormick,” said Pat Poprik, chair of the Bucks County GOP. “He’s just the perfect combination. Number one, he’s a businessman. Number two, he was in the Army. He knows what the military needs. He’s a decorated guy. And he was a business person in a tough arena, also. When he went to Bridgewater (a hedge fund), it wasn’t the smoothest stuff. So he turned that business around.”

Radnor businessman Austin Hepburn supported McCormick during his first run for the Senate and said he “100 percent” supports McCormick today.

“Dave is a very intelligent guy,” said Hepburn. “Dave has good insight into how our economy works and into government.”

And Hepburn said McCormick would also be good on foreign policy. “We’re losing friends,” said Hepburn. “Blowing up the Nord Stream 2. The war in Ukraine. We need to turn over a new leaf.”

He predicted “incredible turnout in 2024.”

“People who voted for Biden are seeing things more clearly now,” said Hepburn. “We need smart people in Washington, and Dave’s a smart person.”

Veteran GOP strategist Mike Murphy, who advised the John McCain and Jeb Bush presidential campaigns, says the 2024 presidential race presents a mixed bag for McCormick’s prospects.

“I think Trump will be a heavy anchor around McCormick’s neck in the all-important Philly suburbs,” Murphy said. “On the other hand, unless Biden’s numbers on the economy get better, the president will struggle statewide in Pennsylvania as well.”

Pennsylvania Republicans are rallying around potential 2024 U.S. Senate candidate Dave McCormick after an Associated Press article raised questions about the Pittsburgh native’s residency in the state.

“I’ve been to Dave McCormick’s house in Pittsburgh,” said Charlie Gerow, a Republican political consultant with Quantum Communications. “It sure looked ‘lived in’ to me.

The article, which claimed McCormick “lives in Connecticut,” echoed a political attack used by Democrats against GOP U.S. Senate candidate Mehmet Oz last year. Oz lost to John Fetterman, despite the Democrat suffering a debilitating stroke during the campaign and still struggling to communicate.

The AP report claimed that “while McCormick does own a home in Pittsburgh, a review of public records, real estate listings, and footage from recent interviews indicates he still lives on Connecticut’s ‘Gold Coast,’ one of the densest concentrations of wealth in America.”

McCormick spokeswoman Elizabeth Gregory gave DVJournal a statement explaining that “he maintains a residence in Connecticut as his daughters finish high school.”

However, “Dave’s home is in Pittsburgh, and for the last 10 years he has owned a working farm in his hometown of Bloomsburg, which has been in the family for decades.”

“Dave has called Pennsylvania home for 30 years and served our country outside of Pennsylvania for an additional 13,” Gregory said. “It’s the place he mailed letters back to when he served in Iraq and where three of his daughters were born.”

McCormick, a former hedge fund manager, served in the first Gulf War, worked in the George W. Bush administration, and authored the book “Superpower in Peril.” He is widely viewed as a likely GOP challenger to Democrat Sen. Bob Casey, who is running for a fourth term in 2024.

During the 2022 GOP primary, McCormick told DVJournal he was inspired to run because of the Biden administration’s bungled withdrawal from Afghanistan.

“Seeing Afghanistan play out just grabbed our attention and just shook us,” said McCormick, who is married to Trump administration national security advisor Dina Powell. “My wife has done a lot of public service, too. She’s an immigrant to this country. We both lived the American Dream. And when we saw that playing out — the humiliation, the embarrassment, and the lack of accountability — it just shook me.”

Pennsylvania Republicans rushed to McCormick’s defense.

Bucks County GOP Chair Pat Poprik called the premise of the AP article, that McCormick does not live in the commonwealth, “ridiculous.”

“Dave lives in Pennsylvania. Graduating from West Point, leading FreeMarkets in a key era for Pittsburgh, advising the president on key economic and national security policies — Dave’s leadership inside and outside Pennsylvania is what would make him such a great senator, and that’s not something to be belittled.”

GOP strategist Christopher Nicholas with Eagle Consulting Group took a swipe at Sen. John Fetterman, saying, “Democrats seem fascinated by geography rather than competency or qualifications.”

“McCormick grew up here, graduated from high school here, earned his West Point appointment here, was a cutting-edge job creator in Pittsburgh, and pays property taxes here,” said Nicholas.

“I think these are not real stories,” said Sam DeMarco, chairman of the Allegheny County Republican Caucus. “I think these things are just planted to try to give Casey, the Democrat, an avenue to attack somebody who’s been wildly successful at everything he’s ever done in life.”

He contrasted McCormick’s record to Casey’s.

“I don’t know where Bob Casey stays in Washington, D.C.,” DeMarco continued. Many people have more than one house, he said. Sometimes in Florida, at the shore, in the mountains. “This is just where our politics are today. (They) try to attack someone for their success.”

If you need a lawyer or a doctor, “you want the best,” said DeMarco. “So, why wouldn’t we want the very best candidate we can find?”

“Bob Casey has been in the Senate for (almost) 18 years,” DeMarco said. “And can you name a single piece of legislation with his name on it?”

Gerow said Democrats are just pulling pages out of last year’s playbook, but McCormick isn’t Dr. Oz.

“Dave McCormick has deep Pennsylvania roots and a story built on that foundation. The left may try — once again — to portray him as something else. It won’t work.”

Please follow DVJournal on social media: Twitter@DVJournal or Facebook.com/DelawareValleyJournal

It’s Christmas in July for Dave McCormick.

Americans For Prosperity Action announced Wednesday it is throwing its weight behind the Republican in his campaign against incumbent Sen. Bob Casey Jr. in 2024. The endorsement comes despite the fact that the author and former hedge fund CEO who ran against Dr. Mehmet Oz for the Republican nomination last year has not announced another bid for office.

He is, however, widely expected to eventually enter the race.

The political action committee, affiliated with the free-market organization Americans For Prosperity, announced other U.S. Senate endorsements on Wednesday as well. They included U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts of Nebraska and retired U.S. Army Captain Sam Brown of Nevada.

“The last three election cycles have made it clear that if we want better policies from Washington, we need better candidates who can lead our country forward,” said Nathan Nascimento, the PAC’s executive director. “AFP Action is prepared for an unprecedented election cycle engagement in 2024. We’ll be engaging in more primaries at every level of office and using our unmatched data capabilities to bring new voters into the political process. We are ready to deploy the strongest and most effective grassroots army in the country to change the outcome of critical races and elect champions for policies that will empower Americans.”

McCormick, who served in the 82nd Airborne Division during the Persian Gulf War, was a Treasury undersecretary for President George W. Bush. He was CEO of Bridgewater Associates, one of the world’s largest hedge funds, from 2020 to 2022.

McCormick has been traveling the state, meeting potential voters, and promoting his book, “Superpower in Peril.”

Casey, who shares a name with his famous father who had served as Pennsylvania governor, is seeking his fourth term.

Perhaps taking a populist cue from Sen. John Fetterman (D) in 2022, Casey said on his campaign website he will “stand up to powerful corporate interests and make the lives of hardworking Pennsylvanians a little bit easier.”

Between 2017 and 2022, Casey’s top contributors were law firms, lobbyists, finance, insurance, and real estate firms, according to FollowtheMoney.org

“Pennsylvania cannot have another term of Bob Casey rubber-stamping Biden’s big-government agenda. Pennsylvanians have seen enough from Casey to know that he’s not going to stand up to the status quo,” said AFP Action Senior Advisor Ashley Kingensmith. “They’ve have had enough of record-breaking spending, redistribution, and constraining regulation from Washington—and they’re the ones paying the price.

“That’s why we’re sending out the signal and encouraging Dave McCormick to enter this race and give the Keystone State the representation it needs in Washington. Should McCormick choose to run, he will have the backing and enthusiasm of our grassroots who are ready to send him to Washington,” she said.

Nascimento added, “This is an example of AFP Action getting involved earlier in the election cycle. We’re identifying strong candidates who have the qualities and principles we want to see representing Americans in Washington. Dave McCormick is one of those candidates.”

Should McCormick decide to run, the Democrats have their swords out.

Maddy McDaniel, senior communications adviser to the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, said, “David McCormick is a Wall Street mega-millionaire who has sold out Pennsylvanians to make millions for himself, his wealthy friends, and the Chinese government. Sen. Bob Casey has spent his career delivering for Pennsylvania families, while David McCormick has shipped American jobs overseas and prioritized China over Pennsylvania.”

Please follow DVJournal on social media: Twitter@DVJournal or Facebook.com/DelawareValleyJournal