HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP/KYW Newsradio) — U.S. Sen. Bob Casey and challenger David McCormick will make their case for Casey’s seat in a battle that could determine control of the Senate. Thursday night’s debate is the first between the democratic incumbent and his Republican opponent in a highly contested and expensive race in the battleground state of Pennsylvania.
The 64-year-old Casey — a staunch ally of labor unions, a former state auditor general and treasurer and Pennsylvania’s longest-serving Democrat in the Senate — is seeking a fourth term after cruising to double-digit victories in his last three races. He has campaigned on preserving the middle class, abortion rights, labor rights and voting rights, and has called McCormick and former President Donald Trump a threat to all of those.
He faces what he calls his toughest reelection challenge yet in McCormick, 59, who makes his second run for the Senate after losing narrowly to Dr. Mehmet Oz in 2022's Republican primary. McCormick is a former hedge fund CEO who served at the highest levels of former President George W. Bush’s administration and sat on Trump's Defense Advisory Board.
He has accused Casey of rubber-stamping Biden administration policies on immigration, the economy, energy and national security that he blames for inflation, domestic turmoil and war. He also has attacked Casey as out of touch after being in elected office for almost three decades.
“He's not a leader. He's a follower,” McCormick said of his opponent. “I always say, instead of Punxsutawney Phil, it’s Punxsutawney Bob, because you only see him every six years.”
Casey, in turn, has attacked McCormick as a carpetbagger from Connecticut's ritzy “Gold Coast.” The senator has accused his opponent of getting rich at the expense of others while an executive at a hedge fund there, while maintaining his own core values were shaped in Pennsylvania. “I fought for those values every single day in the United States Senate,” he said.
Casey has been a key player for Democrats trying to reframe the election-year narrative about the economy by attacking “greedflation” — a blunt term for corporations jacking up prices and ripping off shoppers to maximize profits — as fast-rising prices opened a big soft spot in 2024 for Democrats.
“[McCormick] defended the corporations that are jacking up those prices saying it's not their fault,” he said. “Yes, it is their fault.”
McCormick, meanwhile, has made a bid for Jewish voters by traveling to the Israel-Gaza border, speaking to Jewish audiences across the state and arguing that Casey and the Biden administration have not fought antisemitism or backed Israel strongly enough in the Israel-Hamas war.
Democrats currently hold a Senate majority by the narrowest of margins but face a difficult 2024 Senate map. A Casey loss could guarantee Republican control of the Senate.
Muhlenberg College pollster and political science professor Christopher Borick said both men are interesting candidates, as Casey’s been able to stay low key and avoid culture war issues.
“He's been able to hold the center, if you will, in most of his races,” he said, while adding McCormick has walked a tightrope of sorts in this campaign.
“He seems to be a little bit in the sweet spot there that he might be able to hold some more traditional Republicans, while still appealing to the types of Republicans that are now permeating the Republican party during the era of Trump.”
That has resulted in McCormick giving Casey a race, according to Borick.
“Might [Casey] have an advantage as an incumbent, someone that's won many times and who is leading in the polls, even with a modest lead? The answer is ‘Yes,’” said Borick. “Does that mean it's not competitive? The answer is, ‘No, this is a competitive race.’”
More than $150 million has been spent on the race so far, according to Federal Election Commission records, and the total is on track to exceed $300 million, based on campaign ad tracking by AdImpact, which includes spots reserved between now and Election Day.
The 60-minute debate, hosted by WHTM-TV in Harrisburg, will air on TV starting at 8 p.m. across Pennsylvania and will be simulcast live on KYW Newsradio 103.9 FM and on the Audacy app. The candidates have agreed to another debate, to be held in Philadelphia on Oct. 15.
Both Casey and McCormick were uncontested for their party’s nominations in the primary election.
Also on the Nov. 5 Senate ballot are John Thomas of the Libertarian Party, Leila Hazou of the Green Party and Marty Selker of the Constitution Party. They were not invited to the debate.