Back there in the stone age of 2022, the Pennsylvania Republican Party was the scene for a knock-down-drag-out primary battle for the U.S. Senate seat of the retiring Sen. Pat Toomey.
The contestants were Dr. Mehmet Oz and businessman Dave McCormick. In a 900-plus vote, squeaker Dr. Oz carried the day. Alas, he lost to the — um — interesting Democrat John Fetterman, he of the hoodie and shorts wardrobe.
This time around, McCormick has declared his candidacy for 2024. And this time he has no opposition in the GOP primary. All of this led the Pennsylvania Republican State Committee, chaired by the savvy Lawrence Tabas and meeting this past weekend in suburban Harrisburg, to unanimously endorse McCormick for the other Senate seat — this one held by Democrat incumbent Sen. Bob Casey Jr.
All by itself, the coming Casey–McCormick will be a hell-on-wheels battle.
Casey, of course, is the namesake son of his very popular late dad, Gov. Robert P. Casey Sr. He had previously served as state treasurer and auditor general before defeating then-incumbent GOP Sen. Rick Santorum in 2006.
His 17 years in the Senate, when added to his years in state government, mean that he has spent 27 years as a career politician. In 2024, he will have another year under his belt, marking 2 years shy of having held office for 30 years.
While there’s no question that Casey has advantages here with his name, this time around he will be running with one large weight around him — a weight named President Joe Biden.
Casey is nothing if not a go-along-get-along politician, and, in this case, he has been a staunch ally of Biden.
Which gives McCormick a considerable target. Everything from the Biden-induced inflation to the rocketing gas prices and grocery prices, added to the abysmal disaster in Afghanistan that killed 13 American soldiers and more, are the result of Biden policies. That’s before one gets to those multiple House investigations into allegations of Biden-family bribery.
Suffice to say, Casey has been staunchly supporting Biden.
At his announcement the other week, McCormick said this:
He’s Joe Biden’s rubber stamp. When Joe Biden says jump, Bob Casey says, how high? When Joe Biden says vote, Bob Casey says, which way? When Joe Biden comes calling, Bob Casey comes running. Now here’s the problem with rubber stamps — rubber stamps leave the southern border open, right? Rubber stamps expose the people of this commonwealth to rising crime, and a fentanyl crisis. Rubber stamps vote for trillions of dollars of spending, like Senator Bob Casey did when he voted for the Biden Inflation Creation Act.
It was crystal clear at the weekend’s Republican State Committee meeting (which I attended) that McCormick was hammering this same theme home. And in doing so, he received a rousing, standing ovation from the delegates.
Aside from Casey and his record, McCormick’s own background will be an asset for him. Born in southwest Pennsylvania’s Washington County, he is a seventh-generation native. He’s a West Point graduate and combat veteran, having served as a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division. As noted on his website:
He was deployed to the Middle East during the First Gulf War and received the Bronze Star for his service in Iraq before retiring as a Captain.
In business, he has served in the world of investment management as, among other positions, the CEO of Bridgewater, a highly successful investment-management firm.
His wife, Dina Powell McCormick, served as a deputy national security adviser to President Donald Trump. Suffice to say that their team-up will make them a serious face in Pennsylvania politics.
Add it all up, and McCormick makes a seriously good and seriously prepared candidate to take on Casey, who holds a seat that would be key for continued Democratic control of the Senate.
Not to be forgotten either is that the 2024 presidential race will doubtless play a role in this and all other Senate and other races next year.
If, as is seen probable now, former President Trump is the nominee? He has carried the state once and lost it once. Which means that, in fact, he has every opportunity to carry it a second time, when his seriously enthusiastic supporters will doubtless stand up for Casey as well.
But, without doubt, the signal this past weekend from the gathering of the Pennsylvania Republican State Committee was serious-minded unity.
With McCormick, in addition to State Treasurer Stacy Garrity and Auditor General Tim DeFoor (both Garrity and DeFoor incumbents up for reelection), receiving resounding support this weekend, it is safe to say that the battle for 2024 is on here in Pennsylvania.
Buckle in.
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