On Thursday, Senator Bob Casey (D-Penn.) finally conceded the 2024 U.S. Senate race in Pennsylvania to his Republican challenger, Dave McCormick (R-Penn.), ending a contentious election that had been undergoing a recount at the time of his announcement.
As Breitbart reports, Casey issued his concession via a video post on social media, during which he admitted that he had “called Dave McCormick to congratulate him on his election to represent Pennsylvania in the United States Senate.”
As the first count of ballots is completed, Pennsylvanians can move forward with the knowledge that their voices were heard, whether their vote was the first to be counted or the last,” Casey continued. “This race was one of the closest in our commonwealth’s history, decided by less than a quarter of a point. I’m grateful to the thousands of people who worked to make every eligible vote cast could be counted. Including election officials in all 67 counties.”
Senator-elect McCormick issued a written response on social media, thanking Casey for his service.
“Senator Bob Casey dedicated his career to bettering our commonwealth,” said Senator-elect McCormick. “Dina and I want to extend our sincere gratitude to Senator Casey, Terese, and their family for their decades of service, hard work, and personal sacrifice. I am so honored to represent every single citizen in Pennsylvania in the United States Senate and will fight for you every day. Thank you!” he said in a social media post.
The 2024 Senate race is the closest Senate election in Pennsylvania’s history. McCormick currently leads Casey by just over 17,000 votes, a margin of 0.21%. As the margin was less than half a percentage point, the Secretary of State’s office initiated a mandatory recount, which is currently ongoing and scheduled to end on November 26th. The final results will be announced on November 27th.
Casey’s initial refusal to concede let to Democratic efforts to stonewall the transition process for Senator-elect McCormick, including outgoing Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) refusing to let McCormick attend Senate orientation before relenting and allowing him to attend anyway.
McCormick’s victory can largely be attributed to President-elect Donald Trump’s decisive win in the state’s concurrent presidential election. He defeated Vice President Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) in the Keystone State by a margin of just under 122,000 votes, or 1.73%. His victory secures the Republican Party’s majority in the upper chamber in the next Congress, with 53 seats.
McCormick had previously run for the Senate in 2022, narrowly losing the Republican primary to television host Dr. Mehmet Oz, who went on to lose the general election to John Fetterman (D-Penn.). McCormick was unopposed in this year’s Republican primary. Oz has since been announced as President-elect Trump’s nominee to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
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