Sen. Bob Casey, who has been in office since 2007, thanked staffers, election officials, and his family.
Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) conceded to his Republican opponent on Nov. 21, after weeks of maintaining that he could win a race called by news outlets on Nov. 7
“I just called Dave McCormick to congratulate him on his election to represent Pennsylvania in the United States Senate,” Casey, 64, said in a video posted on social media.
Sen.-elect McCormick (R-Pa.), 59, has already been in Washington for orientation as he prepares to be sworn in on Jan. 3, 2025.
Near-final unofficial results showed McCormick ahead by about 30,000 votes, the Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt announced earlier in November. The margin between the men was under 0.5 percent, triggering an automatic recount.
The results of the recount are not set to be released until Nov. 27. Casey did not mention the recount in his concession announcement. He said he was conceding after the Pennsylvania Department of State announced all counties had completed their initial count of ballots cast in the election.
Current results from the department show McCormick ahead with 3.398 million votes to Casey’s 3.382 million.
Casey said he was proud that his team had fought to “enfranchise voters” across the state, no matter who they voted for, as long as they voted legally.
He singled out a legal case brought by McCormick and other Republicans challenging the Philadelphia County Board of Elections over its decision to count nearly 1,000 provisional ballots despite the ballots having errors, including some with missing or incorrect voter affidavits. A judge dismissed the case, meaning the ballots were counted.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court separately ordered boards in Philadelphia and some other counties not to count ballots that were missing dates.
Casey, who has been in office since 2007, said that he was grateful to election officials and others who worked to make sure “that every eligible vote cast could be counted.” He also thanked his family, campaign staffers, and employees in his Senate office.
“But most of all, I want to thank the people of Pennsylvania for granting me the privilege of serving them for 28 consecutive years in public office, as Auditor General, State Treasurer, and United States Senator.”
Republicans flipped multiple Senate seats, including the one Casey holds. They will have control of the Senate come January.
McCormick said on the social media platform X that Casey “dedicated his career to bettering our commonwealth.” He said he and his wife were grateful for Casey and his family’s service, hard work, and sacrifice.
“I am so honored to represent every single citizen in Pennsylvania in the United States Senate and will fight for you every day,” McCormick said. “Thank you!”