PENNSYLVANIA, USA — Control of the U.S. Senate has been won by Republicans, but in Pennsylvania, three-term Senator and Scranton native Bob Casey (D) is facing a narrow race for his seat.
As of Thursday, Pennsylvania's Senate race between Democratic incumbent Bob Casey and Republican challenger David McCormick has been called by the Associated Press for McCormick.
In response to the call by the AP, Casey's campaign said the following:
“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.”
Casey's campaign released a statement later Thursday evening saying the following:
“I have dedicated my life to making sure Pennsylvanians’ voices are heard, whether on the floor of the Senate or in a free and fair election. It has been made clear there are more than 100,000 votes still to be counted. Pennsylvania is where our democratic process was born. We must allow that process to play out and ensure that every vote that is eligible to be counted will be counted. That is what Pennsylvania deserves.”
In an earlier statement Thursday morning, Casey's campaign said the following:
“The count in Pennsylvania is still continuing. Yesterday, the vote margin shrunk by 50,000 votes and this race is now within half a point, the threshold for automatic recounts in Pennsylvania. With tens of thousands more votes to be counted, we are committed to ensuring every Pennsylvanian's vote is heard and confident that at the end of that process, Senator Casey will be re-elected.”
Thursday afternoon, McCormick's campaign released a statement claiming victory in the 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,"
Pennsylvania's Secretary of State must order a recount by 5:00 p.m. on November 14. The recount would have to be completed by November 26.
McCormick (R) has about 34,386-vote lead, holding steady since Wednesday night. Many of the ballots came in from democratic strongholds like Philadelphia and its suburbs.
Thursday, though, most ballots have been counted, with outstanding ballots largely remaining in Cambria County, where McCormick holds a roughly 24-point lead in the vote.
Cambria County faced issues on election day that saw a court-ordered extension of voting from 8 to 10 p.m. on election night. Any ballots cast past 8 p.m. were counted as provisional votes, which need to be verified by election officials before being counted.