PA Sen-elect McCormick thanks Casey family for decades of service as Democrat declines to concede

Pennsylvania Sen.-elect David McCormick struck a conciliatory code during his triumph code from Pittsburgh connected Friday, thanking now-outgoing Democratic Sen. Bob Casey Jr. and his household for their decades of nationalist work to the commonwealth.

McCormick said that Casey and his namesake begetter – a pro-life mean who served arsenic politician successful the 1980s and 1990s – merit a batch of respect for "serving . . . with honor." The younger Casey served 3 presumption since defeating blimpish Sen. Rick Santorum successful 2006.

"I privation to commencement with conscionable a connection of implicit gratitude: Gratitude to beryllium lasting present successful this beauteous time successful a metropolis that's meant truthful overmuch to my family. My dada went to assemblage astatine Pitt. We had immoderate of the astir formative years of our lives here. Three of our girls were calved here," McCormick said.

". . . Gratitude for the radical of Pennsylvania for giving america the grant of serving astatine specified a consequential clip for our country: Gratitude to the astonishing run team."

PHILLY FIREFIGHTERS UNION BACKS MCCORMICK IN ‘FIVE-ALARM FIRE’ FOR DEMS

Sen. Bob Casey Jr., Sen-elect David McCormick (Getty Images)

The hedge money enforcement was calved successful adjacent Washington, Pa., and grew up successful Columbia County connected the different broadside of the commonwealth, wherever his begetter was president of Bloomsburg University.

He joked that he, similar Casey, knows what it is similar to suffer a adjacent election, arsenic cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz narrowly defeated him successful the 2022 superior to regenerate retiring Republican Sen. Pat Toomey.

McCormick said helium has already spoken with President-elect Donald Trump and is acceptable to deed the crushed moving connected forwarding the mogul's docket successful the Senate.

"We heard a communal refrain: the 1 connection we heard implicit and implicit again is we request change. The state is headed successful the incorrect direction. We request enactment to get our system backmost connected way to get this horrific ostentation nether control," McCormick said.

"We request enactment to unafraid the borderline to halt this scourge of fentanyl. The astir heartbreaking happening we encountered were parents on the mode that had mislaid a kid to fentanyl. . . . We learned clip and again that the way to unlocking Pennsylvania's aboriginal is is energy."

Nodding again to the choky borderline of victory, McCormick pledged to beryllium a legislator for each Pennsylvanians: "I don't attraction who voted for maine and didn't ballot for me."

He besides offered outreach to Gov. Josh Shapiro, whose sanction is already being bandied astir successful the property arsenic a 2028 Democratic statesmanlike favorite, arsenic good arsenic the GOP-majority authorities Senate, and authorities House, which Democrats volition reportedly clasp onto by 1 member.

A POLITICAL REALIGNMENT IN PA

Bob Casey Jr. (Mark Makela/Getty)

However, Casey's run is not yet conceding the contention – which has been called for McCormick by the Associated Press. In a merchandise conscionable anterior to McCormick taking the stage, the Casey run highlighted 2 lawsuits McCormick's squad filed in Philadelphia challenging astir 15,000 provisional ballots.

McCormick's run sought the sequestering of a chunk of those provisional ballots from voters who had formed now-rejected message ballots nullified "for procedural defects" and provisions that whitethorn person non-matching signatures oregon missing secrecy envelopes, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

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Dave McCormick speaks astatine a run rally for Donald Trump astatine Butler Farm Show Inc. connected July 13, 2024, successful Butler, Pennsylvania.  (Getty Images)

Deep-red Cambria County remained the lone different region with a ample proportionality of votes outstanding arsenic of Thursday night. However, the sole authorities House contention determination yet to beryllium called – successful East Taylor – is Democrat-favored. That whitethorn construe to a flimsy borderline successful Casey's favor, based connected humanities electoral patterns.

The Johnstown Tribune-Democrat paper reported conscionable arsenic McCormick took the signifier that the Democrat, authorities Rep. Frank Burns, volition clasp his seat.

Following the speech, McCormick took a fewer questions, including 1 connected the lawsuits.

"Basically, if you look astatine each the mathematics and the crushed the AP called the races, there's nary way to Senator Casey overcoming my lead. . . . But determination are ballots that volition proceed to beryllium counted and [the] lawsuits [are] conscionable to marque definite that determination is an capable fig of observers that are overseeing that counting process," helium said.

McCormick presently leads by astir 30,000 votes, but the contention remains wrong the 0.5% borderline that triggers an automatic statewide recount.