Businessman Dave McCormick launched his Senate campaign in Pittsburgh on Thursday, most likely setting up a pivotal battle with Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., that could determine partisan control of the chamber.
McCormick, who lost his previous Senate bid to Republican Mehmet Oz by less than 1,000 votes last year, enters the contest with broad support across the GOP spectrum in Pennsylvania and appears set to cruise through the party's primary.
“We cannot lose our country. We cannot lose our culture,” McCormick said. “We must not accept the status quo. And I’ve got one word for you … it’s ‘leadership.’ We need leadership in this country and in this commonwealth to lead us forward.
“That’s why today I’m announcing my candidacy for the United States Senate,” he said, adding, “The hour is late, but our future is bright.”
McCormick's entrance into the race is a significant win for Republican Party leaders, who had worked for months to not only recruit McCormick but also clear the field for him.
"Obviously, he’s a candidate who has completely united the grassroots," said a national Republican strategist, speaking on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to discuss the candidacy. "We saw Doug Mastriano endorse him the other day, which nobody thought that would happen in a million years. He has the grassroots, he’s got the establishment, he’s got the entire GOP party apparatus in Pennsylvania coalesced around him."
Pennsylvania is yet again home to what is certain to be one of 2024's most competitive Senate contests, with McCormick and Casey headlining a battle in one of the most critical presidential swing states.
McCormick — a West Point graduate who served in Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, fought in the Gulf War, served in former President George W. Bush's administration and led the hedge fund behemoth Bridgewater Associates — fell short in a recount against Oz, a celebrity doctor endorsed by former President Donald Trump, after the primary last year.
At a rally preceding it, Trump promoted Oz and trashed McCormick as a “liberal Wall Street Republican” who was more aligned with retiring Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., and his brand of Republican politics than he was with Trump’s “Make America Great Again” faction.
Oz lost in the fall to Democrat John Fetterman by 5 points.
Central to that campaign were Oz's limited ties to the state; Fetterman and his allies portrayed him as a carpetbagger from New Jersey who, encouraged by Trump, thought he could capture a key Senate seat in a state he had limited knowledge of.
Like Oz, an out-of-state residence could pose an issue for McCormick, though his ties to the state are much more extensive than Oz's were. The Associated Press reported that McCormick, who owns a home in Pittsburgh and is from the area, appears to live in Connecticut, according to real estate listings, public records and video from recent interviews.
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A McCormick spokesperson, responding to the AP, highlighted McCormick's extensive ties to the state. (Fetterman, who hammered Oz for his out-of-state ties last year, mocked McCormick in response to the AP report.) In a background call with reporters, a campaign strategist said McCormick "will address" those concerns "head on and directly."
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But Republicans are excited that McCormick has seemed to have united the party in Pennsylvania after last year's rough primary battle. Mastriano, the far-right state senator who lost his race for governor last fall by double digits, announced this week that he is backing McCormick after having passed on a Senate run himself this year. And the campaign strategist said McCormick will enter the race with the support of every Republican member of Pennsylvania's congressional delegation.
"Dave McCormick has done a remarkable job of unifying the grassroots in Pennsylvania," Sen. Steve Daines of Montana, the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said in a statement. "A graduate of West Point, combat veteran and Pennsylvania job creator, Dave is exactly the type of candidate who can win both a primary and a general election in one of the most competitive states in the country. It’s great news that Dave is stepping up to serve our country once again."
In conjunction with McCormick's announcement, the NRSC launched a digital ad blasting Casey, highlighting how it plans to attack him.
Casey will be tough for Republicans to knock off, having won each of his three previous races for the Senate by 9 to 17 points. His father, Bob Casey Sr., was the state's 42nd governor.
While Casey's fortunes will be linked with President Joe Biden's at the top of the ticket, Trump's strong position in the GOP primary means both candidates' fortunes in Pennsylvania will be closely linked. The campaign strategist did not think Trump would pull McCormick down.
"Not all of our voters will be Trump voters," this person said. "But we’re very confident that whoever the GOP nominee is [will] win Pennsylvania or be very close to it, which gives us a great position to win."
For now, though, Republican leaders in Washington and in Harrisburg are celebrating McCormick's entrance into the race.
"His ability to unite both the grassroots and the establishment is extremely impressive," the national Republican strategist said. "Everyone agrees. Basically, this is one of the only states in the country where everyone agrees that he is the best candidate."
