HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s candidates for U.S. Senate squared off for their first debate Thursday night, with U.S. Sen. Bob Casey and challenger Dave McCormick sparring over topline issues and attacking one another’s character and capability to excel in elected office.
Casey, the three-term Democratic incumbent, repeatedly assailed his Republican opponent as a carpetbagger more familiar with inflation impacts at grocery stores in Connecticut, where he lived while leading one of the world’s largest hedge funds, than in his home state of Pennsylvania.
McCormick dug at Casey’s fealty to Democratic leadership, pinning him as a consistent vote for liberal policies championed by President Joe Biden and the party’s presidential nominee this year, Vice President Kamala Harris.
“You are a weak senator, you’re a liberal senator, you’re a career politician who wants it both ways,” McCormick told Casey, accusing the senator of failing to fight through bureaucratic red tape that reportedly led U.S. Steel to choose Arkansas rather than western Pennsylvania for a new mill.
“Probably the biggest lie told in this election,” Casey said as the two accused each other of slippery politics around abortion, “was the lie my opponent told when he said he lived in Pennsylvania when he was living in Connecticut.”
Casey and McCormick debated inside the Harrisburg studio of abc27. It was broadcast on Nexstar Media Group affiliates and other television stations, reaching all 67 counties in Pennsylvania. Dennis Owens, abc27 anchor, deftly moderated the debate.
The candidates are seeking a six-year term in the Senate, and the result could be key in determining the chamber’s party control.
Democrats currently control the Senate with a 51-49 edge with the inclusion of three independents. There are 34 Senate seats on the ballot this fall — 23 held by Democrats or independents and 11 by Republicans.
The Cook Political Reports rates the race as leaning in Casey’s favor, however, polling has increasingly tightened since mid-August.
Debate topic spanned headlines currently dominating public discourse — war in the Middle East and Israel’s right to defend itself, border security and illegal immigration, inflation and the economy, women’s reproductive rights and domestic energy production.
Neither candidate expressed interest in U.S. troops joining the fray in the Middle East but both said the U.S. must continue its support of ally Israel as the theater expands into Lebanon and, potentially, Iran. Both acknowledged the coming anniversary of last year’s Oct. 7 terrorist attack by Hamas on Israel but there was no direct commentary on the ongoing loss of life on either side in the war.
McCormick blamed Casey as supportive of policies that weakened the southern border and led to a spike in illegal immigration, though illegal border crossings have recently dropped. McCormick said he would support former President Donald Trump’s proposal to engage in mass deportation of illegal immigrants but offered nothing as to how that might be accomplished.
Casey repeatedly referred to a bipartisan border bill to strengthen border security, enhance adjudicative efforts and add more technology to scan more vehicles for smuggled fentanyl — a bill thwarted after Trump came out in opposition. He challenged McCormick as to why he didn’t support the plan.
“He doesn’t want to do it because he doesn’t want to take on the leader of his party,” Casey said, referring to McCormick’s support of Trump.
On abortion, McCormick said he supports the issue being handled by states rather than the federal government. Where there may be restrictions, he said he supports exceptions for rape, incest and if the mother’s life is at risk due to the pregnancy. And, he said, he “would not favor a national abortion ban of any kind.”
Once billed as a pro-life Democrat, Casey maintained his own support for reproductive rights, saying he favors protections once afforded by Roe vs. Wade while saying McCormick celebrated the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the decision in the case, upturning nearly 50 years of legal precedent.
Casey said he’d support weakening the filibuster in the Senate, which is used to delay or block votes on controversial legislation — abortion, gun safety and more. McCormick defended the filibuster and the Senate’s role as a place for thoughtful and thorough debate.
The two repeatedly went back and forth about Bridgewater, the hedge fund that McCormick once ran. While Casey blamed McCormick for heavy investments in Chinese companies engaged in supporting that country’s military, McCormick countered that Casey actually supported Bridgewater as a pension investment while he served as Pennsylvania’s treasurer.
McCormick was critical of Casey’s legislative efforts to address inflation and “corporate greed,” blaming skyrocketing prices in the past few years on Biden-Harris administration policies supported by Casey.
“Bob Casey doesn’t understand how the economy works, that’s why he’s trying to do all this economic voodoo on prices,” McCormick said.
Casey defended his work and said he’d target Pennsylvania companies that might also be engaged in price gouging.