Sen. Bob Casey (D.) is staying in the Pennsylvania Senate race until "every vote" is counted, he said Tuesday, even after the three-term incumbent lost a major vote of confidence from Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) and saw his already minuscule path to victory narrow even further.
The Associated Press projected Republican Dave McCormick as the winner of the race last week, but Casey has declined to concede. In a Tuesday morning video message, the three-term incumbent said he would "ensure Pennsylvanians' voices are heard" by remaining in the race. He said the race is "too close to call" in fundraising emails seeking donations of $5 to help in a potential ballot recount, which would be automatically triggered if McCormick’s lead falls below a half-percentage point.
"If you’re scared, if you’re angry, you can do something with that," Casey said in the email.
But Casey lost a key bulwark of support on Tuesday when Schumer reversed a decision to exclude McCormick from an orientation session for incoming senators. Schumer said Monday that McCormick and Arizona Democrat Ruben Gallego would not participate in the orientation because of the status of their races. Schumer’s about-face came after the Associated Press declared Gallego the projected winner in his race against Republican Kari Lake.
McCormick attended the Senate orientation on Tuesday, according to photographs posted online. His victory gives Republicans a 53-47 majority in the upper chamber.
Casey’s refusal to concede the loss has drawn criticism from Republicans, especially given Casey's calls for Donald Trump to concede his 2020 loss in Pennsylvania. "Trump should take the first step—which is concession," Casey said at the time.
McCormick led by around 30,000 votes when the Associated Press called the race in his favor last week. That margin increased to 42,000 on Monday, after remaining votes in Republican stronghold Cambria County leaned heavily toward McCormick. The lead has narrowed, as expected, with the tabulation of provisional ballots in Philadelphia, a heavily Democratic city. McCormick led Casey by 35,000 votes by midday Tuesday, according to Pennsylvania’s official vote tally.
Casey would need an unforeseen miracle to close the gap with McCormick, according to Republican consultant Mark Harris. He said the number of remaining provisional ballots is far lower than the Casey campaign hoped, and many others will not be counted due to errors.
But a miracle for Casey, Democrats hope, could come through Marc Elias, the Democratic Party’s go-to hired gun for election recounts and other ballot issues. Elias, who joined the Casey legal fight last week, rose to stardom in the Democratic Party as the lawyer for comedian Al Franken in his recount battle for Minnesota senator in 2008.
Elias, who is perhaps best known for funding the infamous Steele dossier on behalf of the Hillary Clinton campaign, made several controversial moves to overturn elections in 2021. He unsuccessfully pressured House Democrats to overturn the results of an Iowa House race between his client Rita Hart (D.) and Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R.). That same year, Elias sued on behalf of his client, then-Rep. Anthony Brindisi (D., N.Y.), claiming that voting machine malfunctions cost his client thousands of votes in his race against Rep. Claudia Tenney (R., N.Y.).
Other Democrats are raising money for Casey’s potential recount. Kamala Harris set up the "Harris Fight Fund" for donations to help Democrats in "critical races across the country that are either too close to call, or within the margin of recounts or certain legal challenges."
Most of the money raised through that email pitch will not go directly to Casey or other down-ballot Democrats, according to the fine print on the email pitch. The first $44,600 of an individual’s donation to the Harris Fight Fund will go to the Democratic National Committee and Harris campaign, which ended the election with $20 million in debt. Any amount over $44,600 will be split evenly between Democratic Party state committees.