Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dave McCormick was named the victor over Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) by the Associated Press on Thursday afternoon, hours after the McCormick campaign declared victory in a press release sent as multiple Republican senators issued statements acknowledging his victory and urging Casey to concede.
The former businessman was declared the winner by the AP after two days of vote counting, with McCormick (pictured above) supported by 49 percent of the commonwealth’s voters. Casey received 48.5 percent of the vote.
During much of the vote count, the candidates were separated by less than 0.5 percent, which would have set the stage for a recount.
McCormick campaign communications director Elizabeth Gregory originally delivered the campaign’s victory declaration earlier in the afternoon, stating, “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.”
At press time, McCormick expanded his lead over Casey to 34,386 votes after the campaign sent its press release.
Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) expressed his support for McCormick in a post to the social media platform X prior to the Pennsylvanian’s declaration.
“Senator Bob Casey should concede to senator-elect Dave McCormick,” wrote Cotton.
Cotton was joined by Senator Rick Scott (R-FL), who similarly said that Casey has no remaining path to victory and should concede in a post to X.
McCormick “has won and will be the next Senator for the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,” wrote Scott. “Time for networks to call it for for [Casey] to accept the results and concede.”
.@DaveMcCormickPA has won and will be the next Senator for the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Time for the networks to call it and for @Bob_Casey to accept the results and concede.
— Rick Scott (@ScottforFlorida) November 7, 2024
An adviser to Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) additionally published an X post declaring the Pennsylvania Republican, “Senator-elect Dave McCormick.”
McCormick also received congratulations for his victory from Scott Presler, the founder of the conservative Pennsylvania-focused Early Vote Action group, while the leader of the conservative Pennsylvania Chase group called for Casey to concede.
“The only remaining votes are coming in from Cambria County (GOP stronghold),” wrote Pennsylvania Chase’s Cliff Maloney. “It’s time for Bob Casey to concede the race to [McCormick.]”
Voting machines in Cambria County were down for hours on Election Day, prompting county officials to successfully obtain a court order that allowed polls to remain open until 10 p.m., though videos recorded at polling locations in the county suggest some voters may have cast provisional ballots while waiting for the machines to be fixed.
Previously a Democratic stronghold for decades, Cambria County flipped Republican for the first time during the 2020 election, and Republicans have since continued to make gains in their voter registration advantage in the county.
The presidential campaign for Vice President Kamala Harris reportedly sought to block the additional voting time.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Dave McCormick” by Dave McCormick.
