Republican Dave McCormick will be the next senator from the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, even as networks refuse to call the race and incumbent Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) refuses to concede.
McCormick declared victory Thursday afternoon.
“McCormick is up 30,679 votes with more to come, as ruby red Cambria County is still outstanding,” McCormick campaign communications director Elizabeth Gregory said in a statement. “While votes continue to be counted, any way you slice it, Dave McCormick will be the next United States Senator from Pennsylvania.”
With more than 95% of the vote in, McCormick had 3,337,473 votes to Casey’s 3,306,240 — a lead of 31,233.
The Pennsylvania, Arizona, and Nevada Senate races are the only three waiting for network confirmation. In Nevada, Republican Sam Brown and incumbent Democrat Sen. Jackie Rosen (D-NV) remain in a tight battle as the race remains too close to call. And in Arizona, Republican Kari Lake and Democrat Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) await a call, although Gallego leads.
But in Pennsylvania, a path for Casey’s election to a fourth term does not exist, despite the career politician’s obstinacy.
“The count in Pennsylvania is still continuing,” Casey’s spokesperson said in a statement. “Yesterday the vote margin shrunk by 50,000 votes and this race is now within half a point, the threshold for automatic recounts in Pennsylvania.
“With tens of thousands more votes to be counted, we are committed to ensuring every Pennsylvanian’s vote is heard and confident that at the end of that process, Senator Casey will be re-elected.”
Donald Trump’s historic victory in the Commonwealth, where both candidates had trained their fire in the final days and weeks of the campaign, sealed Kamala Harris’s fate. McCormick, the retired Army captain and former businessman, successfully tied himself closely to Trump, his party’s unquestioned leader.
But surprisingly, the low-profile Casey clung to Trump as well in the final weeks of the campaign, a signal Casey saw Harris’s weakness in the Keystone State.
In October, as McCormick caught Casey in the polls, the incumbent stopped using the name of his party’s nominee almost completely on the stump and running ads without mentioning Harris.
Remarkably, Casey’s campaign released ad tying him to Trump, including one showing Trump signing a bill in the Oval Office, with the narrator touting Casey sided with Trump on his historic trade deal ending NAFTA.
Ultimately, Casey’s effort to encourage Trump supporters to split their ticket failed.
Democrats currently enjoy a 51 to 49 seat majority. But the long coattails of Trump’s Election Day landslide ensured Republicans will enjoy a larger majority than Democrats possessed this year.
Republicans will hold at least 53 seats.
By running up the score, the GOP will ensure for at least two years that Trump has the Congressional support he needs to advance his legislative agenda and confirm the nominees to carry out the America First mission. And importantly, Republicans margin can overcome opposition from moderate Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Susan Collins (R-ME).
First, Senate Republicans must choose a new leader to take over from Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY). That election is set for November 13 and will include newly elected senators.
Bradley Jaye is a Capitol Hill Correspondent for Breitbart News. Follow him on X/Twitter at @BradleyAJaye.