Tag: Bob Casey

Pennsylvania County Commissioner Apologizes After Voting to Count Illegal Ballots Because ‘People Violate Laws All the Time’

Tom Pappert
Diane Ellis-Marseglia

The Bucks County commissioner who voted last week to allow illegal, undated mail-in ballots to be counted, and argued that “people violate laws all the time,” apologized on Wednesday after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled against the county on Monday.

Bucks County Commisioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia began the meeting’s first public comment period by delivering a lengthy apology before asserting her declarations that “precedent by a court doesn’t matter anymore in this country,” “people violate laws anytime they want,” and, “if I violate this law, it’s because I want a court to pay attention to it,” were taken out of context on social media.

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Pennsylvania County Received Juicy Election Grant Before Fumbling Election Administration

Daily Caller News Foundation

Bucks County, Pennsylvania, received nearly $5 million from the state for election integrity since 2023, but the county was successfully sued for violating election law as voters were turned away after waiting for hours in long lines during the 2024 election cycle.

Democrat Bucks County Commissioner Robert Harvie blamed the long lines — which were the subject of successful litigation from the campaigns of President-elect Donald Trump and Senator-elect Dave McCormick — on budget restraints, despite Bucks County’s receipt of about $4.98 million from a Pennsylvania state program designed to shore up election administration and integrity. Bucks County is again in the news after Harvie and fellow Democrat Bucks County Commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia moved Thursday to count deficient ballots as defeated Democratic Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey holds out hope that he can win his race after a recount.

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Reporter Tom Pappert: Lawfare Skullduggery in Pennsylvania Proves Democrats Are in Denial After Election Losses

Kaitlin Housler
Pappert and MPL

Tom Pappert, reporter at The Pennsylvania Daily Star, said Democrats’ ongoing refusal to accept the election results of the Pennsylvania U.S. Senate race which saw Republican Dave McCormick defeat incumbent Democrat Bob Casey (D-PA) is textbook “election denialism.”

While The Associated Press called the race for McCormick two days after Election Day last week, Casey has refused to concede.

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Pennsylvania Election Officials Openly Violate State Law to Help Bob Casey’s Recount Effort

Daily Caller News Foundation
Bob Casey

Democrat commissioners in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, voted on Thursday to allow undated and misdated ballots to be counted as defeated Democratic Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey gears up for a recount in the race he lost to Republican Senator-elect Dave McCormick.

Bucks County Commissioners Diane Ellis-Marseglia and Robert Harvie moved to allow for undated or misdated ballots to be counted in the crucial swing county, despite a Nov. 1 state supreme court ruling that undated or misdated ballots cannot be counted. The commissioners voted to do so as the Casey-McCormick Senate race heads to a recount, with McCormick leading by about 25,000 votes, according to The Associated Press.

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Senator-Elect Dave McCormick Plans to Attend Freshman Class Orientation Despite No Invite from Schumer

American Greatness
Dave McCormick

Senator-elect Dave McCormick (R-Penn.) announced Monday that he plans to attend the freshman Senator orientation on Tuesday, despite the lack of an invitation from Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-NY).

“Looking forward to joining the Senate freshman class of 2025 for orientation this week!” McCormick wrote on X. “I’m honored to represent the people of Pennsylvania, and will fight hard to make sure their voices are heard in Washington. Let’s get to work!”

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Republican U.S. Senate Candidate Dave McCormick Named Winner of Pennsylvania U.S. Senate Race Against Bob Casey

Tom Pappert
Pennsylvania U.S. Senator-elect Dave McCormick

The Dave McCormick campaign for U.S. Senate declared victory over Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) in a Thursday press release sent as multiple Republican senators issued statements acknowledging McCormick’s victory and urging Casey to concede.

McCormick campaign communications director Elizabeth Gregory delivered the victory declaration, 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.”

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Trump Leads Harris, McCormick Ties Casey in Pollster’s Final Pennsylvania Survey Before Election Day

Tom Pappert
PA Close Races

Former President Donald Trump leads Vice President Kamala Harris in the final poll of Pennsylvania voters published by Emerson College Polling prior to Election Day, while the pollsters found the race between Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dave McCormick and Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) is now tied.

Published on Monday, the poll found Trump narrowly leading Harris with the support of 49.3 percent of Pennsylvania voters, with the vice president trailing with the support of 48.4 percent of the commonwealth’s voters.

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Sen. Bob Casey Releases Ad Claiming He ‘Bucked Biden’ Despite Campaigning with Democrat President

Tom Pappert
Bob Casey

Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) released a campaign advertisement on Friday featuring surrogates who claimed he “bucked” President Joe Biden on key policies, while backing former President Donald Trump on others, in an apparent attempt to create distance from the Biden-Harris administration despite Casey campaigning with the president earlier this month.

The new ad features Casey and two purported supporters of the Pennsylvania Democrat who revealed themselves to be a politically divided couple, as one spouse is registered Republican and the other Democratic, who are able to find common ground politically through their mutual support of Casey.

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Internal GOP Polls Show Senate Rust Belt Seats in Pennsylvania, Ohio in Play

Just the News
Rust Belt Senate Races

Certain Senate seats in swing states are in play for Republicans as the election gets closer, according to internal polling numbers from the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

An NRSC memo exclusively obtained by Politico, shows that Senate contests in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Ohio, and Michigan are competitive for the GOP. Republican Senate candidates are trailing in Maryland, Arizona, and Nevada. Montana leans towards the GOP. In order to obtain a majority in the Senate, Republicans must flip two seats. 

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Dave McCormick Endorsed by The Jewish Voice as Poll Shows Tie in Pennsylvania Race Against Sen. Bob Casey

Tom Pappert
Dave McCormick

Republican U.S. Senate nominee Dave McCormick received the endorsement on Wednesday of The Jewish Voice, calling him the Pennsylvania candidate capable of ensuring the “Judeo-Christian right to Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness for all.”

McCormick received endorsement amid the release of polling showing him statistically tied with his opponent, three-term incumbent Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), and as the Republican has repeatedly argued the Biden-Harris administration and Casey have failed to adequately support Israel and Jewish faithful in Pennsylvania.

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Dave McCormick Highlights Job Losses in Pennsylvania Town amid Influx of Haitian Migrants Compared to Springfield

Tom Pappert
Dave McCormick

Republican U.S. Senate nominee Dave McCormick on Friday visited Charleroi, Pennsylvania, which has seen a 2,000 percent increase in the arrivals of migrants to the community, to attend an event with residents affected by the closure of a glass plant.

“I’m here today to stand in solidarity with these workers in the fight to keep these jobs here, to build a vibrant economy for our Commonwealth, and to ensure that these Pennsylvania communities are not left behind,” said McCormick during a Charleroi stop on his Poor Leadership Tour that included a joint appearance with workers affected by the closure of a Corelle glass plant owned by Anchor Hocking.

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McCormick Says Voters Support ‘Underdog’ over ‘Out of Step’ Sen. Bob Casey as Campaign Highlights Police Union Support

Tom Pappert
Casey and McCormick

Republican U.S. Senate nominee Dave McCormick on Wednesday argued Pennsylvania voters are willing to support an “underdog” candidate like him against his three-term incumbent, Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), but ultimately attributed the recent tightening in polling data to the Democrat being “out of step” with his constituents.

McCormick on Wednesday appeared on “Fox & Friends,” where said his race to unseat Casey is gaining momentum, driven by both his status as a “challenger” and “an underdog,” but also by Casey’s alleged distance from his constituents.

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Poll Shows Jewish Voters in Pennsylvania Breaking for Trump After October 7 Attacks, Campus Protests

Tom Pappert
Trump Supporters

Greater numbers of Jewish voters living in Pennsylvania are reportedly planning to vote Republican in November, with  former President Donald Trump seeing a double-digit increase in his support since 2020, according to a poll conducted by the Teach Coalition and Honan Strategy group and released by the New York Post on Wednesday.

Pollsters reported that Vice President Kamala Harris ahead with Jewish voters in Pennsylvania, with 49 percent of their vote. However, they found the former president was within single digits of the Democratic nominee, with Trump receiving the support of 42 percent of Pennsylvania’s Jewish voters.

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Casey Brings ‘Greedflation’ Claim to Pennsylvania Campaign Trail Despite Fact Checks, McCormick’s ‘Bobflation’ Website

Tom Pappert
Bob Casey

Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) on Tuesday reportedly repeated his dubious “greedflation” claim at an event in Lawrence County despite being contradicted in multiple fact checks, and after his Republican opponent, Dave McCormick, released his campaign’s “Casey Inflation Calculator” charting price hikes during his time in office.

Casey told attendees of a lunch held by the Lawrence County Democrats on Tuesday that companies “jack up prices and we’re supposed to just shut up about it,” according to New Castle News.

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Pennsylvania Poll Finds Sen. Bob Casey Tied with Republican Challenger Dave McCormick as Voters Focus on Economy

Tom Pappert
Dave McCormick and Bob Casey

A poll released Wednesday found Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) tied with his Republican opponent, Dave McCormick, as a plurality of Pennsylvania voters said the state of the economy was their most important issue.

The polling, released by SRSS and CNN on Wednesday, found Casey and McCormick both with the support of 46 percent of likely voters, tying the men in a race the Democrat previously dominated for months.

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Pennsylvania Sheriff Endorses Dave McCormick After Losing Son to Fentanyl Overdose

Tom Pappert
James Ott and Dave McCormick

The Dave McCormick campaign for U.S. Senate released a video on Monday featuring the endorsement of Blair County Sheriff Jim Ott, who revealed his son died following a fentanyl overdose and condemned Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) and other Democrats for their inaction at the southern border.

In the video, Ott gave details about the loss of his son, Josh, who he said died following a battle with addiction that culminated in a fatal fentanyl overdose.

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‘Massive Financial Disparity’: Republican Leadership Laments Dire Fundraising Situation

Daily Caller News Foundation
Steve Daines

Behind closed doors and in public appearances, GOP leaders are raising the alarm over the commanding monetary lead Democrats have built up as November’s election inches closer.

Democrats had an advertisement spending advantage in nearly every competitive Senate race as of August and the Congressional Leadership Fund, the primary super PAC aimed at electing Republicans to the House, is $70 million behind its Democratic counterpart in ad spending, according to Politico. The situation has high-ranking Republicans making public and private pleas to big-dollar donors in an attempt to close the financial gap before voters head to the polls in November.

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Fact Checker Dings Sen. Bob Casey for ‘Mostly False’ Claim ‘Greedflation’ Caused Higher Prices in Pennsylvania

Tom Pappert
Bob Casey

Fact checking website PolitiFact on Wednesday issued a “Mostly False” rating for the claim by Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) that higher prices paid by Pennsylvanians are caused by “greedflation,” or corporate greed.

The fact checker reported that while prices have sometimes increased higher than inflation since 2019, “most economists” told it “rising costs for goods and labor have been inflation’s primary drivers” of higher costs, while Federal Reserve regional banks have published studies which “cast doubt on the role of corporate greed in driving inflation.”

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Reporter Tom Pappert: Pollsters ‘Unwilling’ to Release New Pennsylvania Polls to ‘Preserve’ Kamala Harris’ Honeymoon Phase

Kaitlin Housler
Donald Trump and Kamala Harris

Tom Pappert, reporter at The Pennsylvania Daily Star, said he believes pollsters are “unwilling” to release the results of new polls taken in the battleground state of Pennsylvania since the end of the Democratic National Convention and the suspension of Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s campaign in an effort to “preserve” Vice President Kamala Harris’ “honeymoon” phase in the 2024 presidential race.

Only one poll conducted by Emerson College Polling/The Hill has been released since the end of the DNC last week and Kennedy suspended his presidential campaign and threw his support behind former President Donald Trump in the race moving forward.

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Dave McCormick Campaign Launches ‘Bobflation’ Calculator to Show Inflated Costs Under Biden-Harris, Sen. Bob Casey

Tom Pappert
Bob Casey

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dave McCormick on Wednesday released its Casey Inflation Calculator, a website known as Bobflation.com that charts price increases for popular Pennsylvania purchases and everyday necessities.

“Pennsylvania’s iconic food and experiences are becoming increasingly unaffordable because of Kamala Harris and Bob Casey’s reckless spending,” said McCormick in a statement. “See for yourself just how much prices have increased with our Casey Cost Calculator.”

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Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro Said Bucks County Will Determine House, Senate Control; It Now Has More Registered Republicans than Democrats

Tom Pappert
Josh Shapiro

During a Monday campaign event, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro said the fate of the control of the U.S. Congress will fall to Bucks County, where Republicans have gained a lead among registered voters for the first time in over a decade.

Shapiro delivered the remarks at a Bucks County campaign event in support of Senator Bob Casey, who will face former Trump administration official Dave McCormick in November, according to by The Philadelphia Inquirer.

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Reporter Tom Pappert Analyzes Democrat Senator Bob Casey’s Attempt to Blame ‘Greedflation’ for Record High Prices

Kaitlin Housler
Bob Casey

Tom Pappert, reporter at The Pennsylvania Daily Star, said Pennsylvania Democratic Senator Bob Casey’s (D-PA) speech at the Democratic National Convention last week about “greedflation” is an attempt by the lawmaker to “parrot” a “socialist talking point” in an effort to prop up both his and Vice President Kamala Harris’ economic policies leading up to the election.

During his speech at the convention last week, Casey said, “Prices are up because these corporations are scheming to drive them up.”

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Americans for Prosperity Spends $3.5 Million to Challenge Vulnerable Democrats, Including Bob Casey in Pennsylvania

Tom Pappert
Dave McCormick campaign trail

The conservative nonprofit Americans for Prosperity (AFP) Action will spend $3.5 million to boost Republicans challenging vulnerable Democrats in the U.S. Senate, with Dave McCormick to benefit from the group’s spending in Pennsylvania.

According to The Daily Wire, who broke the news of the AFP Action advertising spend on Monday, the group will spend $3.5 million to target Senators Bob Casey (D-PA), Jon Tester (D-MT), and Sherrod Brown (D-OH).

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Dave McCormick Slams Sen. Bob Casey over Votes for ‘Every Bill’ Driving Higher Prices After ‘Greedflation’ DNC Speech

Tom Pappert
Bob Casey

Republican U.S. Senate nominee Dave McCormick issued a statement on Thursday, “slamming” Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) for his Democratic National Convention (DNC) speech that pinned the blame for higher prices on “greedflation,” with McCormick accusing the Democrat of voting for policies that were actually behind price hikes.

“Weak career politician Bob Casey voted for every bill that is driving higher prices, enabling open borders and the flood of fentanyl, crushing Pennsylvania’s energy sector, and encouraging violent crime,” said McCormick in a statement posted to the social media platform X. 

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Both Trump, Biden Tried to Restrict Immigration Program Supported by PAC Behind Donation to Sen. Bob Casey

Tom Pappert
Bob Casey

Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) received $5,000 from a political action committee which supports the controversial EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program that grants permanent residence visas to wealthy foreign nationals who make significant investments in the United States.

Documents submitted by the Immigrant Investors Association/Invest in the USA (IIUSA) PAC to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) confirm the organization gave Casey $5,000 on June 13, and records additionally reveal Casey is the only U.S. Senate candidate who received such a contribution.

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Dave McCormick Warns ‘American Dream Is Slipping Away’ Under Biden-Harris, Sen. Bob Casey During Pennsylvania Trump Rally

Tom Pappert
Dave McCormick at Trump Rally

Republican U.S. Senate nominee Dave McCormick spoke at the Saturday rally held in Wilkes-Barre by former President Donald Trump. McCormick relayed his experiences being raised in Pennsylvania and achieving successes within the commonwealth, before warning voters the “American Dream is slipping away unless we turn this country around.”

Revealing his Pennsylvania roots, McCormick briefly mentioned his childhood in Bloomsburg before parlaying his mother’s birthplace in Punxsutawney into a quip about the incumbent, Senator Bob Casey (D-PA).

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Pennsylvania Democrats Ignore Investments by Sen. Bob Casey in Chinese Fentanyl Company with Attacks on Dave McCormick

Tom Pappert
Bob Casey

The Pennsylvania Democratic Party on Tuesday issued a press release containing remarks by elected officials about the investment by Republican U.S. Senate nominee Dave McCormick in fund that owns shares in a Chinese fentanyl manufacturer, despite failing to acknowledge a similar investment by Senator Bob Casey (D-PA).

A party press release reports that State Representative Jim Prokopiak (D-Bucks County) and Bucks County Commissioner Bob Harvie held a press conference to condemn McCormick for his investment and his stance on abortion.

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Dave McCormick Wants Additional Observers, ‘Huge Voter Turnout’ After Pennsylvania Officials Warn of Delayed Election Results

Tom Pappert
Dave McCormick

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dave McCormick on Sunday urged additional election observers after the Pennsylvania Department of State warned that election results may not be available on Election Day, and claimed that changing vote totals should not be construed as evidence of “rigging.”

Ultimately, McCormick that Republicans in Pennsylvania must go to the polls with a “huge voter turnout” that will result in a resounding victory announced on the night of the election.

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McCormick Brands Harris, Walz and Casey ‘Dangerously Soft’ on Crime in Ad Blasting 2020 Response to Riots

Tom Pappert
Dave McCormick, Tim Walz, Kamala Harris, Bob Casey

Republican U.S. Senate nominee Dave McCormick released a new ad for his Pennsylvania election that declares Vice President Kamala Harris, Governor Tim Walz, and Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) are “dangerously soft on criminals” and highlighted their response to the 2020 riots that followed the death of George Floyd.

“Kamala Harris, Tim Walz, and Bob Casey are dangerously soft on criminals,” wrote McCormick in a post to the social media platform X.

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McCormick Warns Harris ‘Wants to Ban Fracking’ in Pennsylvania After Casey Touts ‘New Energy Sources’ Pushed by White House

Tom Pappert
Dave McCormick and Bob Casey

Republican U.S. Senate nominee Dave McCormick on Wednesday issued a statement warning that Vice President Kamala Harris “wants to ban fracking” in Pennsylvania, and suggested Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) would enable her if reelected.

McCormick’s campaign released his statement after Casey was asked about Harris’ prior pledge to ban fracking, and demurred by stating Harris “contributed greatly to our development of new energy sources.”

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McCormick Campaign Brands Harris, Casey as ‘Dangerously Liberal on the Border’ amid Voter Concern over Immigration

Tom Pappert
Kamala Harris and Bob Casey

Republican U.S. Senate nominee Dave McCormick released a new advertisement on Tuesday that declares his opponent, Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), and Vice President Kamala Harris “dangerously liberal on the border.” The video comes after polling data suggested immigration remains a top issue for Pennsylvania voters earlier this year.

The McCormick campaign, in a statement, said the new video highlights public support by Casey and Harris “for decriminalizing illegal border crossings, sanctuary cities, abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, blocking funding for a border wall, and more.”

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Dave McCormick Argues Sen. Bob Casey, Democrats Engaged in ‘Conspiracy of Silence’ to Protect President Joe Biden

Tom Pappert
Senator Bob Casey with Joe Biden

Republican U.S. Senate nominee told “One Nation” host Brian Kilmeade on Saturday that Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) and other Democrats engaged in a “conspiracy of silence” to obscure the truth about the physical and mental fitness of President Joe Biden.

McCormick first noted to Kilmeade the close friendship between Casey and Biden, who the Republican explained often “refer to each other as ‘best friends’ or ‘best buddies,'” before explaining his view that Casey worked with other Democrats and allies of the president to protect Biden’s public image.

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Reporter Tom Pappert Points Out Panic Among Democrats amid President Biden’s Disastrous Debate Performance

Kaitlin Housler
Tom Pappert and MPL

Tom Pappert, lead reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Pennsylvania Daily Star, suggested that there is a sense of panic among Democratic candidates across the country, including Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), as the Democratic Party scrambles to explain President Joe Biden’s disastrous debate performance last week against former President Trump.

Last Thursday, during a 90-minute televised debate hosted by CNN, Biden appeared absent-minded and confused, stumbling over his words and losing his train of thought multiple times.

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Dave McCormick Argues White House Must Consider ‘Responsibility’ to Remove President Joe Biden with 25th Amendment

Tom Pappert
Dave McCormick

U.S. Pennsylvania Senate nominee Dave McCormick on Friday raised the possibility of White House officials using the 25th Amendment to remove President Joe Biden from office due to poor physical fitness due to his poor debate performance on Thursday.

McCormick suggested White House officials consider the 25th Amendment during an appearance on KDKA NewsRadio in Pittsburgh.

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Pennsylvania U.S. Senate Candidate Dave McCormick Reveals 500 Protesters Still at Penn Anti-Israel Encampment, Urges Admin to ‘Get Control’

Tom Pappert
Dave McCormick

Dave McCormick, Pennsylvania’s Republican nominee for U.S. Senate, estimated there are about 500 protesters who remain at at the anti-Israel encampment constructed at the University of Pennsylvania on Wednesday.

McCormick made the remarks following his visit to the Penn campus last week, telling The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show what he witnessed was a “disgrace” and a “travesty.”

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Sen. Bob Casey, Dave McCormick Release Dueling Ads amid Tight Polls in Pennsylvania U.S. Senate Race

Tom Pappert
Pennsylvania Senate Candidates

Both U.S. Senate nominee Dave McCormick and incumbent Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) released campaign ads on Thursday, with the Republican challenger calling his opponent “dangerous” and Casey highlighting his ties to steel workers.

The campaign advertisements dropped after three recent polls showed McCormick just four points behind Casey, placing the candidates in a statistical tie.

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Pennsylvania Senators Earmark $1 Million for LGBT Center Hosting ‘Anti-Capitalist’ Financial Planner

Admin
PA Senators

Pennsylvania Democratic Sens. John Fetterman and Bob Casey sponsored an earmark in the next year’s fiscal budget for a community center that plans to host an “anti-capitalist” financial planning class.

The senators sponsored the inclusion of $1,00,000 in funding for the William Way LGBT Community Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for the purpose of renovations and expansions into the Senate Appropriations Committee fiscal budget for 2024, according to a report from the committee. The center provides a number of services to the community, like peer counseling and resources for transgender individuals, and will host a series of anti-capitalist financial workshops starting on Feb. 22, according to the center’s website.

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Pennsylvania Clean Slate Expansion Passes House Overwhelmingly, Heads to Senate

Bradley Vasoli

Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives this week approved a bipartisan expansion of the commonwealth’s “clean slate” policy affecting those with low-level, drug-related felony convictions.

The measure, which passed 189-14, builds on a 2019 policy that made the Keystone State the first in the nation to enact automatic record-sealing for summary offenses as well as certain nonviolent misdemeanors and arrests that didn’t lead to convictions. That reform benefited 1.2 million commonwealth residents. The bill that now awaits consideration by the state Senate would seal records of those who were convicted of minor drug felonies but thereafter stayed crime-free for 10 years.

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McCormick Prospects Advance as Mastriano Declines Pennsylvania Senate Run

Bradley Vasoli

Pennsylvania state Senator Doug Mastriano’s Thursday announcement he won’t seek the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic U.S. Senator Bob Casey next year vastly boosts potential GOP hopeful Dave McCormick’s prospects. 

“I know this will be disappointing for some,” Mastriano said of his decision in a Facebook Live broadcast. “At this moment, the way things are, I am not running for the U.S. Senate seat that is going to be vacated by Casey. We need to beat him.”

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Possible Mastriano Senate Run Elicits Mixed Reactions Among Pennsylvania Conservatives

Bradley Vasoli

Pennsylvania state Senator Doug Mastriano’s plans to soon announce whether he’ll run for U.S. Senate next year have Pennsylvania’s movement conservatives brimming with feelings — not all of them positive. 

The Republican who represents Gettysburg, Chambersburg and surrounding communities suffered an overwhelming defeat last year when he ran for governor against Democrat Josh Shapiro. After Mastriano indicated he would publicly decide on a bid against Democratic Senator Bob Casey in just days, state Representative Russ Diamond (R-Jonestown) wrote a tweetstorm Monday urging fellow Republicans to entreat Mastriano not to run.

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Pennsylvania State Representatives Call for Federal Rail Safety Legislation

Bradley Vasoli

Three Republican Pennsylvania lawmakers are preparing to introduce a resolution calling on Congress to pass a new rail-safety statute in light of February’s train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. 

State Representative Jim Marshall (R-Beaver Falls) told The Pennsylvania Daily Star he is co-sponsoring the resolution to encourage an “all-in approach” to reduce the likelihood of freight-train accidents. State Representatives Natalie Mihalek (R-Pittsburgh) and Ryan Warner (R-Connellsville) spearhead the measure. 

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Pennsylvania GOP State Lawmaker Proposes Freight-Train Length Limit

Bradley Vasoli

A Republican Pennsylvania lawmaker is urging colleagues to cosponsor state-level legislation to limit a freight train’s length to no greater than 8,500 feet.

State Representative Louis Schmitt, Jr. (R-Altoona) reasoned in a memorandum describing his proposal that the February 3 derailment in East Palestine, less than half a mile from Pennsylvania’s western border, shows current rail-safety requirements are inadequate. 

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Trump, Mastriano Well Ahead of Respective Potential Rivals in Pennsylvania

Bradley Vasoli

In the first public poll on Pennsylvania’s 2024 Republican Senate primary, State Senator Doug Mastriano (R-Gettysburg) has an 18-point lead against Dave McCormick.

The same survey shows former President Donald Trump besting Florida Governor Ron DeSantis by the same margin in the state’s GOP presidential contest. While only Trump has officially declared his candidacy, a robust movement for a DeSantis bid has long been afoot while both Mastriano and McCormick have strongly suggested they are considering a Senate run. 

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Governor Wolf Bestows $2.5 Million in Taxpayer Funds on LGBT Center in Philadelphia

Bradley Vasoli

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf (D) on Wednesday joined a number of state, federal and city officials to celebrate the awarding of $2.5 million in taxpayer funds to a gay and transexual activity center in Philadelphia’s “Gayborhood.” 

Wolf said the money from the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) will go toward several major renovations envisioned for the William Way LGBT Community Center just south of City Hall. The grant comes in addition to $1 million the center received from the state in 2019 to improve the property’s heating, ventilation and cooling systems as well as to remodel the building’s front area. 

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Fetterman Condition Prompts Pennsylvania State Senators to Consider State Disability Procedures

Bradley Vasoli

Pennsylvania’s Senate State Government Committee on Monday heard expert testimony on possible changes to the state’s rules for handling instances when the governor or lieutenant governor cannot perform his or her duties.

The issue has become especially salient ever since Lt. Gov. John Fetterman (D) suffered a stroke on May 13. He recovered but only gradually returned to his job and to his U.S. Senate campaign. He missed 18 session days as presiding officer of the Pennsylvania Senate, leaving him out of the conclusion of budget deliberations.

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Pennsylvania House Democrat Urges Biden to Restart Keystone XL Pipeline

Bradley Vasoli

An Altoona-area Democrat in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives filed a memorandum on Friday asking colleagues to cosponsor a resolution backing reopening of the Keystone XL pipeline.

In his message to the House, Representative Frank Burns (D-Portage) noted that the U.S. imports more than 800,000 barrels of oil daily from Russia and that oil prices reached more than $100 per barrel last week. The representative anticipated that Russian fossil fuels will only get more expensive—perhaps even unavailable—as the Russia-Ukraine military conflict continues.

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