More than two weeks after Election Day, the size of the Republican Party's US Senate majority has now been finalized at 53 seats, after three-term incumbent Democratic Sen. Bob Casey conceded the Pennsylvania race on Thursday.
Out of nearly 7 million votes cast, Republican challenger Dave McCormick -- a West Point grad, Gulf War vet and former CEO of hedge fund Bridgewater Associates -- is up by just 16,000 with 99.8% of votes counted. The tiny margin -- just 0.2% -- triggered an automatic recount that started on Monday; an announcement of the result had been expected to come next Wednesday, but Casey's concession ends the recount.
The Associated Press declared McCormick the winner two days after Election Day -- prompting him to also declare victory. Casey refused to concede for another fortnight, triggering turn-the-tables accusations of him being an "election denier," and sparking criticism for costing Keystone State citizens upwards of $1 million for the recount.
"This race was one of the closest in our Commonwealth’s history, decided by less than a quarter of a point," said Casey in his surrender statement. "I am grateful to the thousands of people who worked to make sure every eligible vote cast could be counted, including election officials in all 67 counties."
Some of those election officials triggered enormous controversy. Earlier this month, county commissioners in Philadelphia and three other counties voted to count ballots lacking proper signatures in violation of the state Supreme Court ruling issued earlier this year. Last week, even the Washington Post condemned the commissioners for "thumbing their nose at the rule of law." On Monday, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ordered all county election officials to stop counting mail-in ballots that fail to comply with state law.
“I think we all know that precedent by a court doesn’t matter anymore in this country. People violate laws any time they want." - Bucks County Democratic Commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia, on her choice to break the law in order to overturn McCormick’s victory over Casey in… pic.twitter.com/LmQ12c74DB
— PA House Republicans 🇺🇸 (@PAHouseGOP) November 18, 2024
The 53-47 majority heightens incoming president Donald Trump's chances of winning Senate approval for his various controversial cabinet picks. The most contentious of all of them bowed out on Thursday -- attorney general nominee Matt Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration amid growing controversy over sexual misconduct allegations and opposition from many establishment Republicans the firebrand had angered one way or another during his time on Capitol Hill.
Along with recapturing the White House and seizing control of the Senate, Republicans narrowly managed to maintain control of the House of Representatives. Needing 218 for a majority, the GOP has 219 seats to the Democrats' 213, and there are three more races still left to be called.
In the three last House seats up for grabs, Republicans have slim leads in two:
- California's 13th: In this rural, 66%-Latino district between Fresno and San Jose, GOP incumbent John Duarte leads Democrat Adam Gray by the tightest of margins -- on a percentage basis, it's 50.0% to 50.0%. Duarte leads by 194 votes out of 203,418 cast.
- California's 45th: Democrat challenger Derek Tren leads GOP incumbent Michelle Steel by 50.1% to 49.9% in this district that straddles Los Angeles and Orange counties.
- Iowa's 1st: In a rematch of a 2022 race for this district that covers much of Iowa's southeast corner, incumbent Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks is up on challenger Christina Bohannan, 50.1% to 49.9%.
Gaetz had previously resigned from his House seat upon Trump's nominating him for the AG slot, and declared his intention not to take the oath for the new term he won earlier this month. Barring his attempting to renege on the latter proclamation -- which would open a legal can of worms -- his seat would be filled via a special election that would almost certainly result in it staying in GOP control.
