Article Summary –
Dave McCormick, the Pennsylvania Republican U.S. Senate nominee, claims a record of job creation and business success, but scrutiny reveals significant discrepancies in his job creation claims and a focus on personal profit, including outsourcing jobs and investing in China. Incumbent Democratic Sen. Bob Casey criticizes McCormick’s investments in Chinese companies, including those tied to the Chinese military, and highlights his own efforts to support Pennsylvania workers. Additionally, McCormick’s tenure at Bridgewater Associates involved accepting government subsidies without fulfilling job creation promises, and his personal investments contributed to outsourcing American jobs, including those in Pennsylvania.
At an Indiana County campaign rally on Sept. 24, Pennsylvania Republican U.S. Senate nominee Dave McCormick spoke about his business record: “I ran a business. Came back to Pennsylvania. Helped create jobs. I have lived the American dream, and that American dream is slipping away.” However, media reporting throughout his campaign revealed his hedge fund CEO career focused more on personal profit than aiding Pennsylvanians.
After narrowly losing a Republican Senate primary in 2022 to Mehmet Oz, McCormick now challenges Democratic Sen. Bob Casey in November’s election.
Casey has highlighted his job creation efforts and contrasted them with McCormick’s record. “While I was fighting for union rights and working families in Pennsylvania, he was making a lot of money investing in China,” Casey said, citing investments in companies building the Chinese military.
From 1999 to 2004, McCormick was CEO of FreeMarkets Inc., a Pittsburgh-based online auction business. Though he claimed to have created “over 1,000 jobs” in Pittsburgh, his campaign later confirmed it was only 600. In 2007, FreeMarkets returned half of a $500,000 grant after failing to create the 1,000 jobs McCormick had promised.
After FreeMarkets was acquired by Ariba in 2004, McCormick became president of the new company, which provided supply chain and sourcing info to businesses. He advised American companies on outsourcing jobs.
In 2005, McCormick was appointed undersecretary for export administration at the U.S. Commerce Department. He said his experience helping companies send jobs offshore would aid him in his new role.
After working in the Treasury Department, McCormick moved to Connecticut and became president of Bridgewater Associates, a hedge fund, in 2009. Appointed co-CEO in 2017, he became sole CEO from April 2020 to January 2022. Though he resigned for his 2022 campaign, tax records show McCormick continued to live in a $16 million Connecticut mansion while claiming Pittsburgh residency.
During his time at Bridgewater, the firm accepted government subsidies to boost its workforce but failed. A 2016 report by the Connecticut Mirror noted Bridgewater accepted $52 million, promising to preserve 1,402 jobs and add 750 new ones over five years, but these promises weren’t met; under McCormick’s leadership, the firm laid off over 400 people.
McCormick’s annual compensation at Bridgewater was more than $22 million, according to his April 2022 financial disclosure.
“Dave is a proven job creator,” a McCormick campaign spokesperson told HuffPost in January. “Dave also created hundreds of jobs in the greater Pittsburgh area while at FreeMarkets, growing the company to nearly 900 jobs by 2004.”
While McCormick campaigns as someone who will stand up to China, on his watch Bridgewater invested billions there, including in businesses reportedly involved with the Chinese military, a fentanyl producer, and companies with ties to Iran.
“We served the biggest global investors in the world, and they want to diversify their portfolios, including in China. So we had an investment strategy that ultimately, I think while I was there, like 2% of our assets were in China,” he told the conservative American Enterprise Institute in March 2023.
According to a November 2023 report by Heartland Signal, McCormick invested between $4.5 million and $92 million in businesses that outsourced American jobs, including 2,600 previously in Pennsylvania.
At a January 2024 campaign appearance at Penn State University, McCormick told students he is fine with outsourcing American jobs, as long as they are not in vital industries.
“There are certain industries that should be here at home or in the hands of our closest allies,” he said, noting that pharmaceuticals and steel were vital to national security. “I don’t really care if we’re not manufacturing T-shirts, or rugs, or a variety of other things that aren’t critical to our economy. I don’t really care if those jobs are elsewhere.”
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