Image Credit Courtesy McCormick Campaign
Republican Dave McCormick flipped Pennsylvania’s long-held Democrat U.S. Senate seat in an upset that will remove Sen. Bob Casey Jr. from office. But the results are so close there will be a recount.
Casey has held the seat since 2007 and was seeking a fourth six-year term.
The McCormick campaign released a statement on Thursday afternoon noting the close race.
“McCormick is up 30,679 votes with more to come, as ruby red Cambria County is still outstanding. While votes continue to be counted, any way you slice it, Dave McCormick will be the next United States Senator from Pennsylvania,” Elizabeth Gregory, McCormick’s communications director, said in the statement. (As of publication, McCormick led Casey by nearly 32,000 votes).
Cambria County was slow to count ballots because the county had a technical problem on Election Day. Vote scanners could not read the ballots, and it took hours to figure out a solution. Many ballots were cast on paper and had to be counted by hand.
Sen. Bob Casey has not tapped out. The margin between the candidates is .48 percent, and Pennsylvania law triggers an automatic recount when the results are .5 percent or less.
There are more ballots to be counted before the election is certified. Overseas voters have until Nov. 12 to return their ballots and be counted. This year, 37,642 overseas voters requested ballots to vote in Pennsylvania according to Department of State data.
Maddy McDaniel, Casey’s communications director,
