PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — For the second time, Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Casey and his Republican challenger, David McCormick, hit the debate stage. This time 6ABC hosted and moderated the contentious display. The candidates took questions on a variety of hot topics — but, just as they did in their first matchup, the pair traded jabs at each other constantly.
It’s a pivotal race for Pennsylvania voters this year that could help decide which party will control the U.S. Senate. As Casey seeks his fourth term, McCormick is making his second run for a Senate seat, having lost to Mehmet Oz in the 2022 Republican primary.
Casey had a laser focus on McCormick’s background as a CEO for a hedge fund, while McCormick continually tried to cast Casey as a career politician.
As the two took swipes at each other and their respective parties’ platforms, the moderators asked questions on topics from the economy and reproductive rights to the Israel-Hamas war.
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When the topic of gun violence and gun control came up, McCormick acknowledged that Philadelphia’s homicide number is down this year.
“Gun violence is, for the most part, perpetuated by those holding illegal guns. So, if you stopped all new gun sales tomorrow, it won't have much of an effect on violent crime or murders that happen as a result of that.”
Meanwhile, Casey emphasized he’d like to see action taken with common sense gun control measures.
“These common sense measures will have no impact on Second Amendment rights. It'll have no impact on law-abiding law owners who need a gun for self-protection or want a gun to hunt. So we can do both.”
On border security and illegal immigration, Casey talked about how he voted in support of a bill that would hire more border patrol officers and change asylum rules.
McCormick referenced the same bill and said it didn’t address the people with criminal backgrounds coming into the U.S. illegally, then pushed to go after drug cartels with the military.