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Dave McCormick Launches Senate Bid in Pennsylvania

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  September 21, 2023 8:30 PM

Veteran and businessman Dave McCormick announced he is running against Sen. Bob Casey Jr. (D-PA) in what looks to be one of many key races with a Senate map that looks favorable to Republicans. McCormick also ran last year to replace retiring Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA), but lost narrowly to Dr. Mehmet Oz, the Republican nominee. Oz ultimately lost to now Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA). 

McCormick officially launched his bid on Thursday night with an announcement video posted to his X account, with considerable mention of the failures of President Joe Biden. It began by McCormick addressing how the country is going in the wrong direction on issues such as inflation, gas prices, cost of living, violent crime, record border crossings, fentanyl overdoses, and the withdrawal from Afghanistan. 

There's even an appearance from Fetterman in the Senate, and Casey, the man McCormick is looking to challenge.

The tone of the ad changes midway through, when McCormick asks a crowd "how many of you are starting to think we need to get off our asses and do something about it?" He also tells people to reinforce how "leadership matters" and "the stakes could not be higher" as he promises to be a "fighter" on these key issues. "It takes a few people in the right position, fighting for the right ideas. That, my friends, can change the course of history," he says to an applauding crowd to conclude the video. 

Particularly noteworthy is how the video mentions "Republicans [are] rallying around Dave McCormick." There's been considerable interest in McCormick running again since earlier this year. Already, McCormick has the endorsement of all Republican members of Congress from Pennsylvania: Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, Dan Meuser, Scott Perry, Lloyd Smucker, John Joyce, Guy Reschenthaler, Mike Kelly and Glenn Thompson. 

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State Sen. Doug Mastriano, who was considering a Senate run but decided against it, has also endorsed McCormick. He was the Republican gubernatorial last November, but lost to now Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA). Both Dr. Oz and Mastriano had been endorsed by former and potentially future President Donald Trump.

National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Chairman Steve Daines (R-MT) is also enthusiastic about McCormick's run. The NRSC also released an ad on Thursday in a now pinned post highlighting Casey's connections to the president. 

A matchup between McCormick and Casey has been considered a major race to watch since even before McCormick announced. On Monday, the Washington Examiner published Salena Zito's column, "The McCormick-Casey Pennsylvania matchup lining up to be biggest Senate race in 2024." It also was part of that day's edition of RealClearPolitics.

Forecasters consider the race to slightly favor Democrats, but it's still early. Further, a poll released on Thursday from National Public Affairs shows a generic Republican virtually tied against Casey, 41 percent to 39 percent. Twenty percent are still undecided. 

The poll was conducted September 14-17 with 622 likely general election voters and a margin of error of plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.