It finally happened. For years, Pennsylvania politics felt like a steady, predictable drumbeat with Bob Casey at the center. He was the "quiet" senator, the one with the legendary last name who just seemed to win every time he stepped onto a ballot. But the 2024 election cycle flipped that script entirely.
If you're looking for who is running against Bob Casey, the primary answer is Dave McCormick. He's the guy who didn't just run—he actually won.
The race was tight. Brutally tight. It wasn't officially settled for weeks after the November 5, 2024, election. We're talking about a margin of roughly 15,000 to 17,000 votes in a state where nearly 7 million people cast a ballot. That’s about 0.2% of the total. Basically, it was a coin toss that landed on its edge and stayed there for a while before finally falling for the Republican.
The Man Who Beat the "Unbeatable" Incumbent
Dave McCormick isn't exactly a newcomer to the scene, though 2024 was his first time actually making it to the general election. You might remember him from 2022. He ran then too, but he lost the Republican primary to Dr. Mehmet Oz by a literal handful of votes.
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This time, the GOP didn't mess around. They cleared the field for him early. No messy primary. No celebrity doctors. Just McCormick.
Honestly, he’s got a resume that looks like it was built in a lab for a political candidate. He’s a West Point grad. He’s a Gulf War veteran with a Bronze Star. He was the CEO of Bridgewater Associates, which happens to be the world’s largest hedge fund. He even served in the Treasury Department under George W. Bush.
But that resume was a double-edged sword during the campaign. While Republicans saw a "leader" and a "job creator," Democrats saw a "Wall Street guy" who spent a lot of time living in a massive house on Connecticut’s Gold Coast. Casey’s team hammered him on that for months. They called him a carpetbagger. They mocked him for mispronouncing the name of Yuengling (a mortal sin in PA). They tried to make him look like a wealthy outsider trying to buy a seat.
It almost worked.
Why This Race Was Different
Most people assumed Casey would cruise. He’d won three terms already. He was a Scranton native. He had the "pro-life Democrat" brand (though he moved left on that later) that appealed to the "Casey Democrats" in the middle of the state.
But 2024 was a different beast. McCormick hitched his wagon to Donald Trump, appearing at almost every rally Trump held in the state. And Pennsylvania was Trump’s most-visited state for a reason.
The issues that defined the race weren't just local; they were the same ones screaming from every TV screen in the country:
- Inflation: McCormick blamed Casey for "rubber-stamping" Biden’s spending.
- The Border: This was a massive talking point for the GOP, and it resonated even in a state that isn't on the border.
- China: Casey attacked McCormick’s hedge fund for its investments in Chinese companies. McCormick counter-attacked, saying Casey was weak on national security.
It was the second most expensive Senate race in the entire country. We’re talking over $300 million spent between the candidates and their super PACs. You couldn't turn on a football game without seeing three ads in a row calling one of them a "threat to democracy" or "out of touch."
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The Other Names on the Ballot
While it was a two-horse race for the most part, a few other people were technically running against Bob Casey. In a race this close, third-party candidates actually mattered. Even if they only grabbed 1%, that 1% could have changed the outcome.
- John Thomas (Libertarian): He pulled in about 1.3% of the vote.
- Leila Hazou (Green Party): She secured around 1.0%.
- Marty Selker (Constitution Party): He took a smaller slice, about 0.3%.
When you realize McCormick won by less than half a percentage point, you start to see why every single vote for a Green or Libertarian candidate caused a minor heart attack for the major party strategists.
The Drama of the Recount
The math was so close it triggered an automatic recount under Pennsylvania law. For weeks, the state was in limbo. Casey didn't concede right away. He waited until November 21, 2024, after the counts and legal challenges in places like Bucks County made it clear the math just wasn't there for him.
It was a "major upset," as the political junkies say. Casey was one of only three incumbent Democratic senators to lose in 2024, along with Sherrod Brown in Ohio and Jon Tester in Montana. It ended a nearly 20-year run for Casey in the Senate.
What Happens Now?
Dave McCormick was sworn in on January 3, 2025. He is now Pennsylvania’s junior senator, serving alongside John Fetterman.
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It’s an odd dynamic. Fetterman is a tall, hoodie-wearing progressive from Braddock. McCormick is a suit-and-tie former CEO from the Pittsburgh suburbs/Connecticut. They couldn't be more different if they tried.
If you’re trying to keep track of PA politics, keep an eye on how these two interact. Pennsylvania now has a split Senate delegation—one D, one R. That means for every vote Fetterman takes to support a Democratic agenda, McCormick will likely be there to cancel it out.
Actionable Steps for Staying Informed
- Check the voting records: Now that McCormick is in office, don't just listen to the campaign ads. You can see how he actually votes on bills at Senate.gov.
- Watch the state budget: Pennsylvania’s political mood often shifts based on the local economy. If inflation stays high or jobs in the energy sector (like fracking) fluctuate, expect McCormick to make that his primary platform for the next six years.
- Follow local journalism: Outlets like Spotlight PA and the Pennsylvania Capital-Star do a much better job of tracking the actual policy impacts of our senators than the national cable news giants.
The 2024 race proved that no seat is "safe" in Pennsylvania. It’s the ultimate purple state, and the battle between the "Scranton guy" and the "Hedge Fund guy" was just one chapter in a much longer story about where this state is heading.