After months of “will he” or “won’t he,” Dave McCormick made it official on Thursday in Pittsburgh.
He’s running again for the U.S. Senate.
The 58-year-old veteran and former hedge fund CEO made announcement at the Heinz History Center in the Steel City before friends and family and immediately made a splash.
McCormick rolled out a slate of endorsements, including the entire Pennsylvania Republican congressional delegation. As a strategist for the campaign noted, “getting Rep. Scott Perry and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick and the whole breadth of the Republican Party speaks volumes to Daves ability to unify the party.”
The focus of the announcement centered on the theme that the race is about McCormick, a Pennsylvania success story, versus Casey who has been a rubber stamp for the failed Biden agenda.
McCormick spoke about lessons learned as an unsuccessful candidate for the GOP nomination in 2022 and what he is hoping to do in 2024.
“We have big problems: our southern border is open, while too many of our factories are closed. Crime is up and incomes are down. The price of gas, food, and rent is high, while confidence in our leaders is low.
“Under Joe Biden and Bob Casey, what’s supposed to be up is down, and what’s supposed to be down is up. We can and must do better. We cannot lose our country. We cannot lose our culture. We cannot accept the status quo.
“And while I’ve had my share of successes, like many Pennsylvanians I’ve also had my share of personal and professional failures, whether it was losing on the wrestling mat, getting fired from a job, or losing an election.
In each case, I’ve pulled myself up, dusted myself off, learned from my mistakes, and moved forward. That’s what leaders do. That’s what Pennsylvanians do.
And you know what – every step along the way – I’ve never accepted the status quo and I never will.”
Pennsylvania Democrats were not content to keep their powder dry, speaking out against McCormick prior to his announcement.
“Dave McCormick is one of those folks who left Pennsylvania behind,” Lt. Gov. Austin Davis said to a gathering of union workers. “He laid off dozens of Pittsburgh workers when he was a corporate CEO, he got rich by shipping American jobs overseas, and he doesn’t even live here. He’s a billionaire who lives on Connecticut’s Gold Coast.”
“This gentleman’s going to call Squirrel Hill in the 14th Ward his home having never lived there, never been there, and I know he’s not here because I work in the community day in and day out,” said state Sen. Jay Costa (D-Allegheny). “We know that this person is a Connecticut resident. If you want to run for U.S. Senate, go to Connecticut and run for U.S. Senate.”
Pennsylvania’s Democratic Party launched a digital ad on Thursday criticizing McCormick for his ties to China as well as his residence in Connecticut.
Inside Elections rates the race as Tilt Democratic. The Commonwealth is likely to be one of the main political battlefields in next year’s presidential race, in addition to hosting a competitive Senate race and likely some tight House races.
McCormick grew up in Bloomsburg in Columbia County and still owns a share of the family farm there. He rents a $16 million mansion in Westport, Conn.
2 Responses
This is exactly what we need! Another pro-war, anti-worker, Wall Street douche bag.
If the goal is to truly try and defeat Casey, and so in a high-turnout presidential election year, then a fresher face, who doesn’t have oppo that writes itself, and can stem the tide of the hemorrhaging of GOP votes in the Philly suburbs would make a ton of sense. Probably not too realistic, particularly given the state of the PA GOP. But if they’re looking someone who won’t be an albatross around the ticket, a la Mastriano, and put up a reasonable fight, requiring the Dems to devote some resources to PA, understanding a win likely won’t be in the cards, McCormick will do fine.