Sen. Bob Casey continues to deny the results of his election defeat, despite the Associated Press acknowledging Republican Dave McCormick won the critical Pennsylvania Senate race and previous statements that election deniers “should not serve in any office.”
Casey’s spokesman disputed the race is over despite the AP and networks reporting McCormick won.
“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,” campaign spokesman Maddy McDaniel said in a statement. “This race is within half a point and cannot be called while the votes of thousands of Pennsylvanians are still being counted.”
Casey’s election denialism comes after he previously claimed protecting democracy would be a key issue in his campaign.
“We’ve got to make sure that we protect our democracy, protect voting rights, and make sure that those who don’t have respect for the Constitution and the rule of law are held to account,” he said in January, the Pennsylvania Capital-Star reported.
Casey accurately predicted election denial would be “relevant actually to the campaign I’m in,” although he mistakenly projected election denialism onto his opponent.
“I’m running against someone who’s supported by these election deniers, fake electors, who’ve supported my opponent, and I think that’s going to be a significant issue in the campaign,” he said.
Casey added, “Anyone who’s an election denier should not serve in any office, from local office to federal office.”
With the writing on the wall, McCormick declared victory before the call came from the AP.
“McCormick is up 30,679 votes with more to come, as ruby red Cambria County is still outstanding,” McCormick campaign communications director Elizabeth Gregory said in a statement. “While votes continue to be counted, any way you slice it, Dave McCormick will be the next United States Senator from Pennsylvania.”
The AP quickly reached the same conclusion. But Casey has not.
With more than 95% of the vote in, McCormick had 3,337,473 votes to Casey’s 3,306,240 — a lead of 31,233.
Bradley Jaye is a Capitol Hill Correspondent for Breitbart News. Follow him on X/Twitter at @BradleyAJaye.
