On Thursday — over two weeks after Election Day — Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) conceded to Republican challenger Dave McCormick in the closely contested race for Pennsylvania’s United States Senate seat.
The Associated Press called the race for McCormick on Nov. 7, with a margin of just under 30,000 votes separating the two candidates. Casey — who was seeking a fourth term — contested the call, citing the potential for an automatic recount. The recount was triggered on Nov. 13 and was expected to conclude by Nov. 26.
“As the first count of ballots is completed, Pennsylvanians can move forward with the knowledge that their voices were heard, whether their vote was the first to be counted, or the last,” Casey wrote in a statement posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Thursday.
McCormick led Casey by a margin of around 16,000 votes around the time of Casey’s concession, according to NBC News.
McCormick, who had already been invited to the U.S. Senate orientation on Nov. 12, expressed gratitude to Casey for his concession in a statement.
“Senator Bob Casey dedicated his career to bettering our commonwealth,” McCormick wrote. “I am so honored to represent every single citizen in Pennsylvania in the United States Senate and will fight for you every day.”
McCormick has been a vocal critic of Penn and other institutions of higher education, listing one of his “key priorities” as making "federal funding for U.S. universities contingent on stamping out antisemitism." During a visit to Penn’s Gaza Solidarity Encampment in May, McCormick told The Daily Pennsylvanian that he would consider withdrawing federal funding from Penn if its response to antisemitism on campus proved inadequate.
“Making [funding] contingent, certainly, on an environment that’s explicitly antisemitic? It doesn't seem like too hard of a bar to establish,” McCormick said at the time.
His election on Thursday signals the likelihood of increased congressional scrutiny of Penn’s handling of campus antisemitism. This development follows closely on the release of a recent report by the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, which detailed findings from an investigation into the issue.
Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), who has served alongside Casey since his election in 2022, said it was a “supreme honor” to work with him in a statement on social media.
“His legacy is a better Pennsylvania,” Fetterman wrote.
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