PITTSBURGH AND BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey lost his race for a fourth term to Republican Sen.-elect Dave McCormick, making a big bet that he can replace his seat with prominent ballots from Philadelphia. I cling to it and deny it. Approximately 36,000 votes he needs to win.
Casey's team is relying on an increasingly narrow strategy of relying on unpaid provisional and military ballots from the City of Brotherly Love. With this plan, McCormick's camp became: Sue the Philadelphia County Board of Elections At least one Republican lawmaker will oversee the vote-counting process and allow his campaign to challenge provisional ballots all at once, rather than individually.
Casey's strategy narrows the gap, as political figures like former Pittsburgh Post-Gazette columnist Dennis Roddy can often challenge the city's provisional ballots with good cause. He says the possibility is low.
“Many of these provisional voters are people who are not registered to vote and are probably not even eligible to vote. This is a long-standing tradition in Philadelphia,” Roddy told the Post, adding that Nikita Kruschev recalled how it was discovered that Richard Nixon, Andy Warhol, and Clark Kent were registered voters in the city. by Pennsylvania Crime Commission In 1977.
“We call it complete nonsense, but it is what it is.” [is]” Rodi added. “This is about making sure that the people who vote are actually the people who are eligible to vote.”
Mark Davin Harris, a political consultant working with the McCormick campaign, closed off questions about the legal process Friday morning. — called them “nonsense” and accused the Casey camp of pretending there was a path forward. X/on Twitter.
“The preliminary statewide proposal would be about a 50-50 split among the candidates. There are only 20,000 people in Philadelphia, that's all,” Harris wrote, with McCormick leading by a wide margin. He pointed out that the number of ballots on Election Day in Cambria County, which is deep red, was outstanding.
The email from Casey's fundraising channel was sent Friday morning – nearly 18 hours after the incident. The Associated Press called for McCormick to run. — claimed that “the campaign is not over” and included a link to donations, as if the senator was still campaigning.
Of note is Casey called on Donald Trump to concede 2020 Joe Biden Presidential Election. So he argued, “The president should do what every defeated president has done in the past.”
mccormick campaign took a victory lap Thursday afternoon, hours before the Associated Press ruled the race in his favor. Other broadcasters, including NBC and The Hills Decision Desk, have not yet called the race and are still waiting to count provisional ballots, despite Casey's near-impossible calculations.
At a victory press conference Friday morning in Pittsburgh, McCormick thanked the voters who elected him and joined his new colleagues in the Pennsylvania Senate, John Fetterman and Josh Shapiro. He promised to work with the governors (both Democrats) across the aisle on behalf of the entire Keystone State.
Mr. McCormick, despite his violent abuse throughout the campaign, showed some sympathy for Mr. Casey as Mr. Casey contested his seat.
McCormick, referring to his loss to Mehmet Oz by 940 votes in Pennsylvania's 2022 Republican Senate primary, said, “While we need to do business for the people, losing in a close election means losing a close election.'' I know what that means,” he said with a laugh. Races that have not been called for more than two weeks.
The senator-elect, who said he met with President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday, even thanked Casey, calling him “a senator who has served Pennsylvania with honor,” empathizing with Casey's unwillingness to give up easily.
McCormick currently leads by more than 36,000 votes, but remains within the 0.5 percentage point difference that triggers an automatic recount in Pennsylvania.
