Republicans are poised to take control of both chambers of Congress after a decisive Election Day victory that will also send Donald Trump back to the White House for a second term. But as the final margins are still being tallied, the Senate race in Pennsylvania remains open with both candidates at odds over a projected victor in the close election.
On Thursday, the Associated Press called the race in favor of former hedge fund CEO Dave McCormick who, in his second attempt at the U.S. Senate, challenged Democratic incumbent Bob Casey. Other news outlets such as NBC News, CNN, and New York Times have yet to officially call the race. However, Casey, the three-term senator, has held off on conceding, citing the slim margin between him and McCormick as well as the number of outstanding ballots that have yet to be counted. Per the AP, Casey currently trails McCormick by 39,545 votes.
“Pennsylvania is where our democratic process was born. We must allow that process to play out and ensure that every vote that is eligible to be counted will be counted,” Casey said following the AP’s call.
The Casey campaign has pointed to a statement from Al Schmidt, the state Secretary of State, who said Thursday that there are an estimated 100,000 ballots remaining to be processed. In addition to Election Day votes, the outstanding votes include provisional, military, and overseas ballots. In a Monday press release, the campaign noted that provisional ballots “broke overwhelmingly” for John Fetterman in 2022 at a larger margin than Casey currently needs to overtake McCormick. Fetterman would later go on to win his Senate seat over his Republican challenger Mehmet Oz.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Friday that the McCormick campaign had filed a lawsuit seeking to challenge tens of thousands of provisional ballots from Philadelphia, a traditionally blue city, as well as a request for a Republican observer for the processing of those ballots. The judge denied McCormick’s observer request, prompting his team to pull the other lawsuit which they could later refile, per WHYY.
While Casey awaits the complete vote tally, McCormick has already declared victory and has begun making the rounds in cable interviews as Pennsylvania’s new senator-elect. “This election and the incredible mandate that President Trump has and the support that I have is a recognition that we need to shake things up. No incrementalism. We need to bring about real change,” he said in an interview with Fox News on Sunday.
With the results of the race still officially undetermined, McCormick hasn’t been extended an invitation to Senate orientation events for new members which many of his Republican colleagues have denounced as a partisan snub from outgoing Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. “Dave McCormick is the senator-elect and Senator Schumer’s move to not allow him to participate in orientation this week is disgusting. They did the same thing to me after I beat a Democrat in 2018. We have to fight this!,” Florida Senator Rick Scott wrote on social media Sunday. “AP called it. Dave won, Casey must concede NOW.”
A spokesman for Schumer told Politico, citing the outstanding ballots, that the race’s winner will be invited once they’re all tallied “as is custom.” Ruben Gallego, the Democratic Nevada congressman, also hasn’t been invited to Senate orientation events despite his current lead in his Senate race against former television anchor Kari Lake in the state.
As the ballot counting enters a new week, Casey appears determined to hold out until the very last vote. “Our Commonwealth ran a free and fair election, and we are still waiting on the final results. Our election officials will continue counting ballots and ensure that Pennsylvanians’ voices are heard,” Casey said Monday.
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