Article Summary –
Democratic Sen. Bob Casey conceded to Republican David McCormick after a slow ballot count and legal battles. McCormick led by 16,000 votes, triggering a recount, but Casey faced court setbacks over ballot issues. Republicans will hold a 53-47 Senate majority. McCormick, backed by significant campaign funds, claimed the seat.
Casey Concedes to McCormick After Lengthy Ballot-Counting Drama
HARRISBURG — Democratic Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania conceded his reelection bid to Republican David McCormick on Thursday. The recount showed no signs of closing the gap, and Casey faced court setbacks in his effort to get favorable ballots counted.
The slow ballot-counting process led to hours-long election board meetings, social media outrage, lawsuits, and accusations of some county officials flouting the law.
Republicans accused Democrats of trying to steal McCormick’s seat by counting “illegal votes.” Casey’s campaign countered that Republicans were blocking legitimate votes to prevent him from winning.
Casey, a stalwart of Pennsylvania’s Democratic establishment, called McCormick to congratulate him. “As the first count of ballots is completed, Pennsylvanians can move forward knowing their voices were heard,” he said.
Casey’s campaign confirmed that all ballots cast before Election Day polls closed on Nov. 5 had been counted.
The Associated Press called the race for McCormick on Nov. 7, as not enough ballots remained in Casey-favorable areas to change the outcome.
McCormick led by about 16,000 votes out of nearly 7 million counted, within the 0.5% margin for an automatic statewide recount under Pennsylvania law.
However, officials anticipated a recount would change only a few hundred votes, and Pennsylvania’s highest court refused to allow counting of mail-in ballots lacking a correct handwritten date.
Casey succeeded in efforts to count thousands of provisional ballots affected by election worker errors, including unprocessed voter registrations. But the campaign failed to count ballots disqualified over common errors like missing signatures or secrecy envelopes.
Republicans will hold a 53-47 majority in the U.S. Senate next year.
McCormick, 59, recaptured a GOP seat in Pennsylvania, leveraging support from key GOP figures. It was his second run, after narrowly losing to Dr. Mehmet Oz in 2022’s GOP primary.
The former CEO of the world’s largest hedge fund, McCormick utilized substantial campaign funds from allies in hedge funds and securities trading, making the race the nation’s second-most expensive of the cycle.
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