DV Journal

A new Franklin & Marshall College poll shows there hasn’t been much change since October in voters’ attitudes about the race between Democratic Sen. Bob Casey Jr. and Republican challenger Dave McCormick.

Casey leads McCormick 47 percent to 35 percent in a head-to-head match-up for U.S. Senate. In October, the F & M poll showed Casey at 46 percent to McCormick’s 39 percent.

Another poll, the Susquehanna P & R,  conducted on Jan. 15 and 21, was closer. It had Casey at 45.9 percent and McCormick at 42.1 percent. That poll has a plus or minus 3.7 accuracy rate.

“There really isn’t that much difference between the polls–the numbers for Casey are virtually identical and Susquehanna has McCormick a tad higher than us. Could be the result of sampling variation, could be the result of question wording or order. What’s probably more important for McCormick is that 55 percent of voters said they didn’t know enough about him to have an opinion. He’ll definitely need to change that to be competitive,” said Berwood Yost, director of the Floyd Institute of Public Policy Center for Opinion Research at Franklin & Marshall College,

President Joe Biden is barely ahead of former President Donald Trump in the presidential race, 43 to 42 percent, virtually a tie. Biden has a larger lead of 42 percent to 37 percent if a third-party candidate is added.

The poll claimed that more voters think Biden has better judgment than Trump, is more trustworthy and shares views closer to their own. But more voters believe that Trump can better handle the economy and serve as commander-in-chief.

And 43 percent think both Biden, 81, and Trump, 77, are too old to be president. One in five voters has an unfavorable opinion of both men.

Most Democrats, at 64 percent, think Biden is doing a good job. Only 8 percent of Republicans and 19 percent of Independents believe that. Biden is also viewed more unfavorably by 57 percent of Pennsylvania voters than favorably by 41 percent of voters.

“The bad news for President Biden is that his numbers on handling of the economy and overall approval are dreadful and would normally spell doom for an incumbent,” said Vince Galko, a Republican strategist.  “The good news for Biden is that he is running against Donald Trump.  Former President Trump’s legal problems and his lack of support from Independents and suburban voters level the playing field and will make this a real dogfight.  This election may not be about who is best to lead our nation, but rather who is least objectionable.”

Charlie Gerow, CEO of Quantum Communications, said, “The F&M poll shows the presidential race within the margin of error, which is not surprising. There are other recent polls that give President Trump a lead in Pennsylvania greater than the 1 percent margin in the F&M poll. While there are lingering questions about the sampling by F&M, one thing is clear: Pennsylvania is still up for grabs, and both teams have a lot of work to do.”

The survey also found that voters were “generally pessimistic” about the economy, although to a lesser extent than in October. Some 48 percent think things in the state are on the wrong track, but 55 percent believed that in October. And 47 percent believe they are worse off than they were a year ago, with 38 percent naming inflation as the cause and 19 percent saying the general cost of living. Some 7 percent listed the cost of food, and 7 percent said stagnant wages were the main reasons they feel worse off, the poll stated.

The Center for Opinion Research at Franklin & Marshall College conducted the poll from Jan. 17 to 28. The responses included 1,006 registered Pennsylvania voters, including 450 Democrats, 414 Republicans, and 142 Independents. The sample error for this survey is plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.

Lancaster County Republican Brandi Tomasetti is challenging Dave McCormick for the GOP U.S. Senate nomination and the chance to take on three-term U.S. Sen. Bob Casey Jr. (D) in November.

Tomasetti, the secretary-treasurer of Conestoga Township, announced her candidacy last week.

“I’m just a fed-up American,” she told DVJournal. “I’m not happy with the direction that the country is headed…It seemed like the best time, especially since the two people running have been lifetime politicians. And I don’t think that they’re good for the country.

“I don’t agree with them,” Tomasetti said. “And I think I can do a better job.”

McCormick lost the 2022 GOP Senate primary to TV Dr. Mehmet Oz, who then went on to defeat at the hands of Democrat John Fetterman. Many Pennsylvania Republicans expressed regret at not nominating McCormick, and he enjoys widespread support from the state GOP.

“We welcome [Tomasetti] to the race and look forward to winning the primary in April,” Elizabeth Gregory, McCormick’s communications director, told DVJournal. “Come November, Pennsylvanians will elect combat veteran, West Point graduate, and seventh-generation Pennsylvanian Dave McCormick to shake things up in Washington and put an end to Bob Casey’s ineffective 17-year career in the Senate.”

Tomasetti, who describes herself as an America First, anti-war advocate, is undettered by McCormick’s headstart.

In her campaign video, she accused McCormick of being a Republican in name only who is “unlikely to succeed” in Pennsylvania against Casey.

She took a shot at McCormick’s past as former CEO of Bridgewater by calling him “China Dave,” a line used by Oz during the 2022 primary.

Tomasetti said she didn’t know the ‘China Dave’ line came from Oz.

“He has been known to be a wealthy investor for China,” she said. “He’s also been quoted praising China, saying something along the lines of, ‘When China succeeds, the U.S. succeeds.’ I wholeheartedly disagree with that statement. I think it’s very clear what China is doing to the United States is wrong.

“Dave McCormick seems to be somebody who somewhat believes in a global economy,” she added. “I’m okay with a global economy to a certain extent, but I really support a strong localized American economy. And you go to the stores, and all of our stores are closing down. Everything’s cheaply made in China; you buy it online.”

McCormick has made confronting China a central part of his campaign. He has written a book (“Superpower in Peril”) laying out what he says is a strategy for American strength to confront China. And he has called China “the gravest threat” to U.S. security and well-being “since the end of World War II.”

Tomasetti’s complaints about McCormick extend beyond China. She took a page from Democratic attacks on McCormick’s residency. “He hasn’t been here. He doesn’t know what we’re going through here…I just really don’t respect the fact that he sells himself as a fifth-generation Pennsylvanian when he was just born here, and then his career took him elsewhere.”

McCormick has brushed aside previous residency criticisms by pointing out that he has a home in Pittsburgh and cast ballots in the Pittsburgh precinct in the 2022 primary and general elections.

He grew up in Bloomsburg, where his father was the former president of Bloomsburg University. After graduating from West Point and serving in the U.S. Army, McCormick started his financial career in Pittsburgh before joining President George W. Bush’s administration.

Tomasetti’s campaign video boasts of her Pennsylvania roots with a vow that she won’t leave.

Tomasetti said she cares deeply about healthcare reform and lowering costs. While pointing out that she doesn’t “believe in socialized medicine,” she argued that elected officials need to do something, including requiring cost transparency from doctors. “I have a feeling that the reason they’re not doing this is because they’re paid off.”

She advocated for more funding for the environment, saying America’s “water is toxic.

“There’s things in our water, there’s plastics in our water that are disruptive to women’s hormones,” Tomasetti said. “Women are having infertility problems because of all the chemicals in our environment. I just think that needs to be addressed, and I think we could do better.”

She donated to Donald Trump’s campaigns in 2016 and 2020 and said last year she was invited to private campaign events in Philadelphia and at Mar-a-Lago. She also publicly endorsed Trump on social media.

Tomasetti, 32, also said she wants to see more young people in public office. “There are no term limits,” she said. “These people stay in there forever, and they refer to the people in our Senate as dinosaurs. So, I’d really like to get some a fresh perspective in there.”

The primary is set for April 23.

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Pennsylvania Republicans got a double dose of good news Monday, and it suggests a good year ahead for the GOP.

For U.S. Senate candidate Dave McCormick, the headline is his blowout fundraising in the fourth quarter of 2023, $6.4 million. That’s more money than the incumbent Democrat he’s challenging, Sen. Bob Casey, has ever raised in a single quarter.

For former President Donald Trump, the good news is a poll from the left-leaning group Future Majority showing him leading President Joe Biden in Biden’s native Pennsylvania by six points, 46-40 percent. Trump already has a slim one-point advantage in the RealClearPolitics average of polls. With the new Future Majority poll, Trump beat Biden in four of the five most recent polls in Pennsylvania.

It’s part of a consistent trend showing Trump leading Biden in Pennsylvania and six other swing states that are likely to determine the outcome of the 2024 presidential race. And it’s good news for Keystone State Republican candidates like McCormick, who will benefit from having a strong performance at the top of the GOP ticket.

Not that McCormick isn’t helping himself.

McCormick raised $5.4 million from over 15,000 individual donors and put in an additional $1 million of his own in his first quarter as a 2024 Senate candidate, making for a groundbreaking haul, his campaign said in a press release. McCormick’s number beats any of Bob Casey’s fundraising quarters in 18 years and is among the largest first quarters ever for a Republican challenger.

“Dave McCormick has earned the support of Pennsylvanians from all walks of life because they believe he is the kind of leader who can address the burden of inflation on working families, push for a secure border, and protect the security of Americans at home and abroad. A seventh-generation Pennsylvanian, West Point graduate, and Pennsylvania job creator, Dave is exactly the kind of candidate who can beat Bob Casey in November, shake up Washington, and get this country back on track from the failed policies of Joe Biden,” said McCormick campaign manager Matt Gruda.

The Casey campaign raised $3.2 million for the third quarter of 2024.

“I’m no stranger to a tough race. I’ve always fought for PA, and I won’t stop now. We’re up against a wall of money, so I’m looking for 10,000 supporters to help us start 2024 off strong,” Casey posted on social media.

In addition to his fundraising success, McCormick just completed a trip to Israel to highlight his strong foreign policy resume and raise questions about Casey’s commitment to the Jewish state.

Delaware Valley supporters of McCormick like what they’re seeing from the candidate.

“Dave McCormick is running an excellent campaign so far,” Radnor businessman Austin Hepburn told DVJournal. “His fundraising is impressive. It’s going to be an expensive race.”

Democrats are already looking at a difficult U.S. Senate map as they attempt to hold their 51-49 majority. West Virginia is almost certain to flip to the GOP now that Sen. Joe Manchin has announced he’s not seeking reelection. Democratic incumbents in two other states that Trump carried easily in 2020 — Ohio and Montana — are up for reelection in November, too. If Democrats can’t hold Pennsylvania, they are assured of losing control of the Senate.

And if Biden can’t pick up his poll numbers here, it’s going to be tough for Casey to hold off McCormick.

Perhaps in an effort to shore up his support in Pennsylvania, Biden kicked off his 2024 campaign in Montgomery County on Friday with a speech attacking Trump. Biden went after Trump over his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, claimed Trump would become a dictator if elected again, and compared Trump’s rhetoric to that of Hitler.

While going negative against Trump, Biden did not tout his own record. All of which has the GOP feeling optimistic.

“From calling out Biden’s ‘erosion’ of support, to bluntly saying his ‘numbers are bad,’ to already being desperate for a ‘rebound,’ the Pennsylvania press corps are calling in dire news for Joe Biden,” said Republican National Committee spokesperson Rachel Lee. “Democrats’ prospects in Pennsylvania are bleak, and in 300 short days, Joe Biden and Bob Casey will be reading the worst headlines of their careers yet: Democrats’ defeat.”

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Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dave McCormick has made no secret of his support for Israel or belief that the U.S. should stand by its key ally.

The Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania native put those beliefs into action this week, traveling to Israel to meet with members of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and tour a site of the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attack.

“[H]e has a packed schedule while there,” a McCormick campaign spokesperson told DVJournal.

It may include visits with the families of hostages, top IDF leaders, and government officials. One site McCormick has already visited is the Kfar Aza kibbutz east of Gaza. Nearly 50 residents were murdered, and at least 20 others were reported missing after the Hamas attack. Some 1,200 Israelis were killed and and another 250 were kidnapped that day. At least 33 American citizens were killed, while others were taken hostage.

McCormick has made foreign policy a centerpiece of his campaign to oust Democrat Sen. Bob Casey, who is seeking a fourth term. The author of the recent book, “Superpower in Peril,” McCormick also holds a Ph.D. from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton, served as an undersecretary of the U.S. Treasury for international affairs under President George W. Bush, and was an Army officer and Gulf War veteran.

McCormick’s wife, Dina Powell McCormick, is also on the trip. A former deputy national security adviser in the Trump administration, Powell McCormick worked on Trump’s Middle East peace plan, the Abraham Accords, with the former president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.

It’s not known how long McCormick will be in Israel.

The Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia sees McCormick’s trip as a positive from an educational standpoint.

“We are always appreciative when individuals work to educate themselves with an in-person visit to Israel,” organization CEO and President Michael Balaban told DVJournal. “However, it is our policy, as a non-profit, not to comment on individuals running for office.”

McCormick’s visit may prompt Casey to make his own trip.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) said she and “at least four” other members of the Senate Intelligence Committee will be in Israel for the rest of the week. Casey is on the committee, but a spokesperson did not respond to requests about whether he’s part of the group. It plans discussions with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The McCormick-Casey contest will be one of the biggest races in Pennsylvania and the U.S. this year. Democrats have a one-vote majority in the Senate. Polls currently show McCormick trailing Casey by about seven points.

McCormick lost the 2022 Pennsylvania GOP Senate primary to Dr. Memet Oz, who was soundly defeated by Democrat John Fetterman months later.

McCormick has been dogging Casey over what Republicans see as less-than-wholehearted support for Israel in the wake of Oct. 7. During a recent podcast interview with DVJournal, McCormick said U.S. aid to the Jewish state is vital, and he urged Republicans to come to an agreement with the White House to fund Israel, Ukraine, Taiwan, and reform policies at America’s southern border.

“They have a supplemental with funding for Israel, Ukraine, Taiwan, and changes to the border. And the president is not involved. He has not been involved from the beginning. He is apparently MIA on everything,” McCormick said.

“I’m particularly worried about Israel getting the support it needs to be able to finalize the destruction of Hamas. All these things are essentially creating uncertainty in the world about America’s leadership. And this weakness has to be replaced.”

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Despite a poor showing in statewide judicial races in 2023, Pennsylvania Republicans are bullish for 2024.

It’s a presidential election year and so far former President Trump is leading in the polls for the primary so barring an unforeseen event, the general election will likely be a rematch of Trump against President Biden.

“I think in Pennsylvania, the Republicans will do very, very well,” said  Republican consultant Charlie Gerow, CEO of Quantum Communications. “And as Pennsylvania goes, so goes the nation.”

Asked about the losses in 2023, Gerow said, “2023 was an ‘off-year election’ with a very different electorate than the folks who will show up at the polls next year.”

More people come out and vote in presidential election years.

“You’re going to have three times the number of voters participating in 2024 as you had in 2023,” said Gerow.

Scott Presler, a Republican voter registration activist who has been focusing on registering Pennsylvania voters this year, including spending three days in December at a recent gun show in Oaks, is also bullish.

“I feel more confident today about Republicans winning the presidency in 2024, than I did a year ago,” said Presler.

He points with pride to the recent “flip” of Beaver County from Democrat to Republican and believes Bucks County may be next. Luzerne and Centre counties are also on the cusp of flipping from blue to red.

In the first two weeks in December, the Democrats lost 2,165 voters while Republicans gained 3,530 voters.

“Republicans had a net gain of 5,695 voters in 14 days,” said Presler, who was also recently in Philadelphia teaching local Republicans how to register voters.

“This is monumental when you think of Joe Biden winning Pennsylvania in 2020 by 80,000 votes,” said Presler. “So I think 2024 is going to be a great year. I think Pennsylvania is winnable and anecdotally from what I’ve experienced the last three days at the gun show, granted it’s a gun show. These are Second Amendment voters.”

“Republican momentum is on the rise, with another Pennsylvania county flipping from blue to red just this week. The RNC is continuing to register Republican voters and encouraging them to ‘bank’ their vote for Republicans up and down the ballot in 2024, as Pennsylvanians stand ready to Beat Biden and retire Bob Casey once and for all!” said RNC Spokesperson Rachel Lee.

In November of 2021, Pennsylvania Democrats had 605,188 more voters than Republicans.   Republicans have reduced Democrats’ advantage by over 161,000 voters in the last two years.

In 2023, some 50,000 Democrats and Independents have re-registered as Republicans in Pennsylvania.

The RNC is also pushing mail-in ballots in a Bank Your Vote campaign, to cut into the Democrats’ lead in that arena.

“People are hungry for change. One woman who was born in 1965 never registered to vote her entire life. She registered for the first time with me as a Republican,” said Presler.

“What I’m hearing from people is the theme, what they’re saying to me is, ‘The world is in chaos. The world is upside down and it’s time for a change.’ That’s what I’m hearing over and over again,” said Presler.

Many DelVal voters still abhor Trump and will likely never vote for him.

“Well, in other parts of the state, they are,” said Gerow.

“And, as you know, Donald Trump won here in Pennsylvania in 2016, and lost narrowly in 2020. So he’s got a very clear path to win again in 2024,” said Gerow. “And I believe he will.”

Asked about abortion, which Democrats have been successfully using as a wedge issue, including to attack Judge Carolyn Carluccio, the Republican who ran for the Supreme Court, Gerow believes that issue will fade.

“I don’t think it’s going to be as big as some of our Democratic friends will like it to be,” said Gerow. “I think the economy is going to be the dominant issue next year and the devastation of Bidenomics is going to reflect in the results.”

The other marquee race will be three-term incumbent Sen. Bob Casey who is being challenged by Dave McCormick, a Gulf War veteran, a successful businessman who also served in the Bush administration.

Gerow said, “Dave McCormick’s entire life is action packed. He gets things done. His record of accomplishment in the private sector far exceeds Bob Casey’s 34 years in politics. People are increasingly asking, ‘What has Bob Casey actually done?’ They don’t ask that about Dave McCormick.”

“I think it always boils down to personalities,” said Gerow.

He also pointed to Philadelphia state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, who the state Democratic Party endorsed for auditor general, over two other candidates.

“He’s a Marxist for crying out loud,” said Gerow. “That’s where the Democratic Party is right now. It’s identity politics. He’s African American. He’s gay. He checks all the boxes. That’s what they’re looking for, not competency. That guy’s got no business running for auditor general.”

In contrast, incumbent Timothy DeFoor, who is also African American, has a strong background in auditing and accounting.

In addition to the economy, Presler said people are concerned with rising crime. He is convincing Philadelphians to either register Republican as first-time voters or to switch parties based on rising crime.

“I’m getting formerly incarcerated people,” he said. “Business owners. They’ve changed their lives and they’re going ‘Oh my gosh, the taxes are incredible. Inflation is incredible. Crime is rising. The streets aren’t being cleaned.”

“Unlike 2020 or 2016, you’re going to see millions of people who have never been part of the process coming out to vote,” said Presler.

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Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) announced Monday he will try to block the sale of Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel to Nippon Steel, a Japanese company.

Fetterman cited security concerns and fears that jobs will be lost if the deal goes through.

“I live across the street from U.S. Steel’s Edgar Thompson plant in Braddock. It’s absolutely outrageous that U.S. Steel has agreed to sell themselves to a foreign company. Steel is always about security – both our national security and the economic security of our steel communities. I am committed to doing anything I can do, using my platform and my position, to block this foreign sale,” Fetterman said.

“This is yet another example of hard-working Americans being blindsided by greedy corporations willing to sell out their communities to serve their shareholders. I stand with the men and women of the Steelworkers and their union way of life. We cannot allow them to be screwed over or left behind. I promise to them and to all forgotten communities across Pennsylvania that I will work with Senator Casey and the rest of the delegation to fight like hell to make this right.”

Fetterman’s fellow Democrat Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) agreed.

“The United States marquee steel company should remain under American ownership,” said Casey. “From initial reports, this deal appears to be a bad deal for Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania workers. I’m concerned for what this means for the steelworkers and the good union jobs that have supported Pennsylvania families for generations, for the long-term investment in the commonwealth, and for American industrial leadership.”

U.S. Steel agreed to a $14.1 billion deal with Nippon, which is offering to buy the steel giant’s shares for $55 each. Although Nippon claims it will honor all collective bargaining agreements and keep the company in Pittsburgh, the union, United Steelworkers International, is crying foul.

Union President David McCall said, “To say we’re disappointed in the announced deal between U.S. Steel and Nippon is an understatement, as it demonstrates the same greedy, shortsighted attitude that has guided U.S. Steel for far too long.

“We remained open throughout this process to working with U.S. Steel to keep this iconic American company domestically owned and operated, but instead, it chose to push aside the concerns of its dedicated workforce and sell to a foreign-owned company.

“Neither U.S. Steel nor Nippon reached out to our union regarding the deal, which is in itself a violation of our partnership agreement that requires U.S. Steel to notify us of a change in control or business conditions,” McCall said.

“Based on this alone, the USW does not believe that Nippon understands the full breadth of the obligations of all our agreements, and we do not know whether it has the capacity to live up to our existing contract. This includes not just the day-to-day commitments of our labor agreement but also significant obligations to fund pension and retiree insurance benefits that are the most extensive in the domestic steel industry.

He called on government regulators to “carefully scrutinize this acquisition and determine if the proposed transaction serves the national security interests of the United States and benefits workers.”

The USW represents 850,000 workers.

President and Chief Executive Officer of U. S. Steel, David B. Burritt, told investors the purchase offer is a good deal.

“I couldn’t be happier with the outcome of our strategic review process, because it delivers on what is best for each of our stakeholders. And importantly, this is the best value with certainty and timeliness to close,” Burritt said.

Following the closing of the transaction, U. S. Steel will retain its iconic name, brand, and headquarters in Pittsburgh. NSC is committed to continuity in strong relationships with U. S. Steel’s suppliers, customers, the surrounding communities, and people that support U. S. Steel’s operations and is committed to being a productive member of these communities, the company said in a press release.

In an October press release, the company said, “United States Steel Corporation’s operations in Pennsylvania, which include U. S. Steel’s corporate headquarters in Pittsburgh and sites in Braddock, Clairton, Fairless Hills, Munhall, and West Mifflin, contributed $3.6 billion to the local and state economy in Fiscal Year 2022, according to an economic impact report released today. The report further concludes that the U. S. Steel’s economic activity supported or sustained 11,417 jobs.

“Bob Casey and Joe Biden have weakened America’s national security and economic standing in the world. We need to be a manufacturing country, with Americans working for American companies,” Dave McCormick, the Republican running against Casey, said on social media.

While Biden and Casey have spent most of their lives in Washington working for the government, McCormick has been in the business world as CEO of a Pittsburgh software company and, most recently, the CEO of Bridgewater, a hedge fund, as well as serving having served in the George W. Bush administration.

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After the head of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) gave a speech last month praising the Hamas terrorists who attacked Israel on Oct. 7, the Biden White House cut off all ties with the organization.

The fact that the Biden administration would be working closely with the group — founded by the terror-supporting Muslim Brotherhood and whose rhetoric has included antisemitic remarks — is surprising to some. But the White House isn’t alone. CAIR has another longtime ally:

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey.

The Pennsylvania Democrat has praised CAIR for “diversity and equality” and for its fight against “discrimination and prejudice.”

In the 2016 letter to the Philadelphia branch of CAIR in honor of its 10th anniversary, Casey said, “The work of CAIR to advance the well-being of Muslim-Americans and fight against rising discrimination and prejudice in our society stands as a testament to the bravery, work ethic and ideals of everyone involved.”

In 2019, Casey had a CAIR representative moderate an event, and he mentioned the group on Facebook in 2021.

After Nihad Awad’s most recent controversial comments, Casey’s relationship with CAIR was highlighted by national media outlets.

Speaking at the 16th Annual Convention for Palestine in the U.S. on Nov. 24, Awad said of the Oct. 7 attack, “Yes, I was happy to see people breaking the siege and throwing down the shackles of their own land and walk free into their own land that they were not allowed to walk in. And yes, the people of Gaza have the right to self-defense, have the right to defend themselves, and yes, Israel as an occupying power does not have that right to self-defense.”

The White House issued a statement condemning “these shocking, antisemitic statements in the strongest terms.”

Israel pulled out of the Gaza Strip in 2005 and removed all its citizens, leaving the Arab residents of Gaza to govern themselves. Gaza’s residents elected Hamas as their leaders, and the Iran-backed terror group has been in charge ever since.

The Hamas Oct. 7 terror strike on communities in southern Israel resulted in 1,200 casualties, the most Jewish deaths since the Holocaust. The brutal attack killed civilians, including children and babies, along with women and the elderly. Others were kidnapped and are being held hostage.

Casey’s likely GOP opponent next year, businessman Dave McCormick, was quick to criticize the three-term Democrat for his coziness with CAIR.

“Once again, weak Bob Casey has failed to act. He needs to apologize for his past association with this radical group. He should never have met with them or praised them in the first place. Now it’s time for him to apologize to the people of PA,” McCormick said on X (formerly Twitter).

“October 7th was a brutal and vicious attack on innocent Israeli civilians,” Casey told Fox News Digital. “I unequivocally condemn the antisemitic and hateful comments made by CAIR’s leadership and any comments that celebrate the despicable acts of Hamas terrorists.”

After the blowback, Awad claimed he was quoted “out of context.”

“What I actually said while discussing international law: Ukrainians, Palestinians, and other occupied people have the right to defend themselves and escape occupation by just and legal means. But targeting civilians is never an acceptable means of doing so, which is why I have again and again condemned the violence against Israeli civilians on Oct. 7 and past Hamas attacks on Israeli civilians, including suicide bombings, all the way back to the 1990s-just as I have condemned the decades of violence against Palestinian civilians,” Awad said in his explanation.

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“China poses the gravest threat to our security and our wellbeing since the end of World War II.”

That was David McCormick’s message in a speech Thursday, delivered in the shadow of Philadelphia’s Independence Hall. The Republican U.S. Senate candidate’s foreign policy address made it clear he believes America “is in a contest for our prosperity” against Beijing.

“If we lose, we sacrifice the future long promised to our daughters and their children. The Biden administration is taking us on a dangerous path,” McCormick said. “I am proposing a new one.”

McCormick’s China policy is centered around a series of “dramatic policy changes” he said would slow Communist China’s efforts at expansion. He decried incremental change in U.S.-China policy, arguing for a major overhaul instead.

McCormick called the 4,000 fentanyl overdose deaths in Pennsylvania a tragedy and one that could be stopped if the U.S. and its allies took a tougher stance against China. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, “fentanyl and methamphetamine precursors, opioid additives, and synthetic opioids are manufactured and distributed by China-based chemical companies.”

“We must use sanctions, intelligence resources, military interdictions at seas, and all the tools at our disposal to make it difficult – if not impossible – to produce fentanyl with ingredients originating in China,” McCormick said. To those who might see his policy as too extreme, he added: “I think this fentanyl epidemic is extreme, and it’s time for serious measures to stop it.”

Other proposals include pushing for the removal of China from the World Trade Organization (WTO) and revoking Beijing’s permanent normal trade relations status.

“Going forward, we must chart a new path on trade that focuses on shifting critical supply chains to more reliable trading partners or, even better, bringing them home,” he said. McCormick hopes to keep American farmers protected from any sort of economic coercion from China. “This is a massive project that will require leaders in Washington who understand this challenge.”

McCormick also pushed policies to end U.S. reliance on Chinese-imported lithium batteries and solar panels. Subsidizing green tech dominated by China and its resources “might as well be a direct transfer from Pennsylvanian’s bank accounts to the CCP [Chinese Communist Party],” he said.

He added the U.S. needed to stop trade and investment that supports the CCP’s national security state.

“It’s unconscionable to me to consider the possibility that U.S. dollars would fund a military buildup that could one day be deployed against Pennsylvania’s sons and daughters,” he warned. “We must now presume that Chinese companies seeking U.S. financing or technology will become partners to China’s military and security services.”

McCormick advocated for Congress to aggressively cut off U.S. investment in Chinese technology companies critical to national security. American companies should also be banned from working with the Chinese army, he added. Also important to McCormick is that all public corporations and investment funds reveal Chinese investment in public filings.

Perhaps the most popular proposal involved removing China from the World Health Organization (WHO). Calling it obvious, McCormick said China and the Wuhan Institute of Virology behaved recklessly and refused transparency regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Everyone in this audience was affected by [the pandemic],” he declared after cheers from the crowd. “From those we lost to those who lost their jobs. To years of education that were lost from lockdowns…I won’t have it. I won’t stop until China is removed from the World Health Organization.”

His last proposal involved a ban on strategic purchases of American land by the CCP. McCormick tied the policy to food security in the U.S., saying American farmland was a “strategic asset” that needed protection. He believes any significant purchase of land by Chinese companies or individual should have a national security review.

“Our enemies are at the gate, led by the Chinese Communist Party,” McCormack warned. “As we speak, China is propping up Russia and buying Iranian oil so the jihadist regime in Tehran can fund terrorism against Israel and the United States.”

Before McCormick’s speech, protestors drove a billboard truck through Philadelphia, pointing out that he and Bridgewater Associates, the hedge fund he once ran, did business with China.

McCormick faced the criticism head-on, acknowledging that Bridgewater had investments in China, but dismissed the relevance of the criticism. “These attacks are predictable,” McCormick said. “The real question is who has the will and strength to act.”

Should he win the GOP primary, McCormick would face incumbent Democrat U.S. Sen. Bob Casey next November. McCormick would like Casey to say whether he agrees with McCormick’s China proposals, but he doesn’t expect any answer.

“The senator has proven for two decades he won’t stand firm against the CCP or stand up for a stronger and more resilient America. He has dithered while China moved aggressively. He has failed and should be replaced.”

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.”