Major Upset: GOP's David McCormick Defeats Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. Bob Casey, Making Trump's Win Even Bigger

A political shift has taken place in Pennsylvania, as Republican David McCormick unseated longtime Democratic Sen. Bob Casey in a tightly contested Senate race.

According to the Associated Press, which announced the results Thursday night, McCormick defeated Casey, a three-term senator who had previously secured six statewide victories since 1996, including his initial Senate win in 2006.

McCormick garnered 3,340,649 votes compared to Casey's 3,308,961, with Libertarian candidate John Thomas receiving 87,706 votes, as reported by The New York Times.

NPR reported that this win brings the Republicans' Senate count to 53 seats, with two races still awaiting final results.

While the AP called the race, Casey’s campaign has yet to concede. A spokesperson, Maddy McDaniel, told Politico, “As the Pennsylvania Secretary of State said this afternoon, there are tens of thousands of ballots across the Commonwealth still to count, which includes provisional ballots, military and overseas ballots, and mail ballots."

“This race is within half a point and cannot be called while the votes of thousands of Pennsylvanians are still being counted. We will make sure every Pennsylvanian’s voice is heard,” McDaniel emphasized.

McCormick, backed by President-elect Donald Trump, won a hard-fought GOP primary and strategically worked to unite the party. In one campaign event, he stated, “You’re going to agree with about 80 percent of what I say … but we disagree 90 percent of the time with the crazy progressive left that’s destroying our country.”

McCormick’s path to this victory was laid in 2022 when he showed humility after losing to Mehmet Oz in the GOP primary, a move the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette notes as a key factor. “He stepped aside. He congratulated Oz. By doing so, he earned some support and appreciation among Republicans. He set the tone for another attempt in 2024,” said Christopher Borick, a political scientist from Muhlenberg College in Allentown.

To further solidify his position, McCormick connected with voters directly throughout 2023. “He spent a lot of 2023 meeting grassroots folks, doing dinners, meeting with party chairs and various coalition groups,” said Republican strategist Vince Galko. “By the time the fall of 2023 came around, they got to know him more on a personal level. He had a lot of that support built up organically rather than buying it via media or mail. It was a smart strategy to get that behind him and avoid a bruising primary.”