McCormick, appearing in Pittsburgh, declares victory over Casey

Republican David McCormick appeared Friday morning in Downtown Pittsburgh to declare victory in his tight U.S. Senate race against incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, who has yet to concede.

The Associated Press called the race Thursday in McCormick’s favor, and the Republican claimed there’s no path for Casey to overtake his lead.

“It’s indisputable that there’s no path for victory. That’s why the AP called it. That’s why I’m moving forward,” McCormick said in remarks that lasted about 10 minutes outside Heinz Hall. “We knew election night we had won because the math was clear.”

The AP explained its decision to call the race by saying the outstanding votes left to count did not come from areas where Casey had enough support to overtake McCormick.

“We obviously had an incredibly hard-fought race,” said McCormick, 59, of Pittsburgh.

Maddy McDaniel, spokesperson for the Casey campaign, pushed back on any declaration of victory as being premature.

“The number of provisional ballots expected from areas that favor Sen. Casey, like Philadelphia and its suburbs, is further proof that this race is too close to be called,” McDaniel said in a statement. “As the McCormick campaign admitted in their own lawsuit this morning, the counting of these ballots could have an ‘impact on the outcome of the election.’ With more than 100,000 ballots still left to count, we will continue to make sure Pennsylvanians’ voices are heard.”

McDaniel was referring to a lawsuit McCormick filed in Philadelphia County Common Pleas Court challenging the number of watchers who would be permitted in the room to examine provisional ballot envelopes.

According to the complaint, the Democratic Party would be entitled to 38 authorized representatives, while the Republican Party would have only 11.

The complaint asked the court to ensure at least one representative from each party would be able to directly observe the examination of each provisional ballot, believed to number between 15,000 and 20,000.

However, according to Democracy Docket, an online site that tracks election cases, the court on Friday denied McCormick’s emergency motion for injunction.

As part of his request, McCormick sought to be able to make a “global challenge” against all provisional ballots that don’t meet state requirements instead of having to challenge each ballot individually.

“Given the significant legal implications and potential impact on the outcome of the election, Plaintiff seeks a preliminary injunction directing Defendants to sequester any provisional ballots cast by voters who had previously requested mail-in or absentee ballots until further action is taken by the United States Supreme Court,” McCormick wrote in the complaint.

Solving everyone’s problems

McCormick credited his opponent, a three-term senator, for his years of serving the commonwealth.

But McCormick said after making over 500 campaign stops throughout the year, what he’s heard from Pennsylvanians is that they’re ready for change.

“There’s a mandate for change. That’s where my attention starts today — making sure Pennsylvania has the leadership it needs to get our commonwealth back on track but also get our country back on track,” he said.

His top priorities, he said, will be improving the economy, creating more jobs and securing the border.

McCormick said he also would work to curb fentanyl, cut red tape around energy production and represent everyone in the commonwealth — whether they voted for him or not.

“These problems — inflation, crime, fentanyl — they’re not Republican problems. They’re not Democrat problems,” he said. “They’re problems for everybody.”

This will mark McCormick’s first time holding elected office. He served as CEO for a hedge fund for years before coming up short in the Republican primary for Senate in 2022. Last year, he declared a new campaign against Casey, who is finishing his third term.

As of Friday morning, McCormick had earned 48.97% of votes, compared to 48.47% for Casey, according to unofficial election results. That’s a margin of fewer than 35,000 votes.

Urging patience

In a social media post Thursday, Casey said he had dedicated his life “to making sure Pennsylvanians’ voices are heard, whether on the floor of the Senate or in a free and fair election.”

“Pennsylvania is where our democratic process was born,” Casey, 64, wrote. “We must allow that process to play out and ensure that every vote that is eligible to be counted will be counted.”

On Thursday, Pennsylvania Department of State Secretary Al Schmidt said there were at least 100,000 ballots remaining to be counted, including provisional, military, overseas and Election Day votes.

Schmidt pushed back against calling such a close race.

“We urge patience as election workers continue to do this important work, especially in contests where the margins are very close,” Schmidt said.

It remains to be seen whether the final tally will have a margin of 0.5% or less, which triggers an automatic recount in statewide races.

Staff writer Paula Reed Ward contributed.