Casey Concedes Pennsylvania Senate Race, GOP Holds 53 Seats

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Nov 22, 2024

Above: Now-Pennsylvania US Senator-elect Dave McCormick on May 17, 2022 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Image copyright: Jeff Swensen/Stringer/Getty Images News via Getty Imagesstory last updated Nov 22

The Facts

Incumbent Pennsylvania Democratic US Sen. Bob Casey on Thursday conceded to Republican Dave McCormick, giving the GOP a 53-47 advantage in the Senate starting in January.
Although the Associated Press called the election for McCormick on Nov. 7 — two days after election day — Casey waited to concede because the margin of less than 0.5% triggered a recount. As of Thursday, McCormick led by approximately 16K votes out of 7M.

The Spin

Republican narrative

While trying to sell himself as a savior for democracy, Casey made the state waste taxpayer money on a recount and dragged out this election with legal maneuvers that were most definitely undemocratic. Republicans knew it was impossible for Casey to pass McCormick, but Casey pushed it anyway, unsurprisingly, to no avail.

Democratic narrative

Casey leaves a legacy as one of Pennsylvania's great Senators who kept his politics in the middle of the road and put his constituents first. He'll be missed, but his loss should be a lesson to Democrats — who are coming to terms with needing to better appeal to working-class white voters who now favor candidates like McCormick and Trump.