According to Decision Desk HQ, a website focused on reporting the results of the United States elections, it was predicted on Thursday, November 14, that Republican candidate David McCormick defeated the incumbent Democratic federal senator Bob Casey in Pennsylvania. This victory secured the 53rd seat for the Republican Party in the US Senate election.
Prior to the announcement of this prediction by Decision Desk HQ (DDHQ), on Wednesday afternoon, Pennsylvania Secretary of State Al Schmidt declared a statewide recount for this election. The final election results are set to be announced after noon on November 27.
Schmidt stated that by the end of Wednesday afternoon, McCormick was leading Casey by a marginal margin of about 29,000 votes, with their respective vote percentages at 48.93% and 48.50%. According to Pennsylvania law, a recount is triggered automatically when the vote difference between two candidates is less than 0.5%.
The Associated Press had predicted McCormick’s win a week earlier.
McCormick, aged 59, is a retired US Army veteran who served in a national security role during the tenure of former Republican President George W. Bush. He has also served as the former co-CEO of Bridgewater Associates, one of the world’s largest hedge funds.
During his campaign, McCormick focused on economic and foreign policy issues and allocated some of his personal funds to his campaign.
He had previously run for federal senator in the 2022 midterm elections but narrowly lost in the party primaries to medical talk show host Mehmet Oz. At that time, former President Trump supported Oz. Due to the close margin, that primary also triggered an automatic recount, and Oz ultimately won by a slim margin of less than 1000 votes.
This marks the second time the Republican candidate has run for federal senator in this election cycle and has received support from Trump.
McCormick’s victory secures the 53rd seat for the Republican Party in the US Senate. Winning the Senate majority will aid Trump in ensuring the confirmation of his nominated cabinet members and advancing his legislative agenda.