Bob Casey refuses to concede PA Senate race as Schumer welcomes Republican McCormick among new senators
Democrat Sen. Bob Casey Jr. still refuses to concede his race against Republican Dave McCormick, even though The Associated Press and other media outlets have called the race in McCormick's favor.
In a new video message, the three-term incumbent Casey said the democratic process "will play out" once all the votes are counted. As of early Tuesday afternoon, McCormick was leading Casey by 34,561 votes, according to Pennsylvania's election results website.
"My priority has always been standing up for the people of Pennsylvania. Across our commonwealth, close to 7 million people cast their votes in a free and fair election. Our county election officials will finish counting those votes, just like they do in every election," Casey said.
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"The American democratic process was born in Pennsylvania, and that process will play out. I want to thank the election workers across our commonwealth who have been working diligently over this weekend. Their work will ensure Pennsylvanians' voices are heard."
McCormick was leading by more than 30,000 votes when the AP called the race at 4:09 p.m. on Thursday. Though there were an estimated 91,000 votes still outstanding at that time, the AP asserted that there were not enough in areas supporting Casey for him to make up the difference.
The McCormick campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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McCormick declared victory in Pittsburgh on Friday, thanking Casey and his family for their decades of service to the commonwealth.
McCormick said that Casey and his namesake father – a pro-life moderate who served as governor in the 1980s and 1990s – deserve a lot of respect for "serving …. with honor." The younger Casey has served three terms since defeating conservative Sen. Rick Santorum in 2006.
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"I want to start with just a message of absolute gratitude: Gratitude to be standing here in this beautiful day in a city that's meant so much to my family. My dad went to college at Pitt. We had some of the most formative years of our lives here. Three of our girls were born here," McCormick said.
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McCormick will attend new senator orientation in the nation's capital this week. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., initially said McCormick was not welcome at the orientation due to there still being votes left to be counted, even though the AP had already projected him as the winner. Schumer eventually relented, saying Tuesday morning that the Republican is invited to participate.
Fox News Digital's Danielle Wallace and Kelley Phares contributed to this report.