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Join Telegram ChannelLongtime Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. Bob Casey and his Republican challenger Dave McCormick are still going through their election results, with McCormick's campaign saying that while the race is close, the Republican will prevail.
“McCormick has won 30,679 votes with more to come as ruby red Cambria County is still up in the air. As votes continue to be counted, any way you slice it, Dave McCormick will be the next U.S. senator from Pennsylvania,” McCormick principal Elizabeth Gregory. communications director, said in a comment provided Thursday to Fox News Digital.
More than 98% of votes have been counted in the high-stakes Senate race, with McCormick showing a slight lead over Casey, at 48.94% to Casey's 48.49% support, according to race results from Fox News . The results are too close to make an official decision, and they will likely be subject to a recount. Thursday afternoon, 31,503 difference in favor of McCormick.
Cambria County, home to the city of Johnstown, is a reliably red jurisdiction that got a two-hour extension to polling hours on Tuesday after a “software malfunction” temporarily delayed the scanning of ballots in the enclosure. The county has voted for Republican presidential candidates in every cycle since Mitt Romney's 2012 candidacy.
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Former President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump (L) listens as David McCormick, candidate for United States senator, speaks at a campaign rally in Reading, Pennsylvania, November 4, 2024. (Ed Jones/AFP via Getty Images)
Pennsylvania has three recount options: automatic statewide recounts ordered by the Secretary of the Commonwealth; recounts ordered by a county board of elections; and court-ordered accounts.
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Former President Barack Obama (center) joins Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) (left) and Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf (right) at a campaign rally for Pennsylvania Democrats on September 21, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Getty Images/Mark Makela)
An automatic recount would take place in this case if a candidate's margin of victory does not exceed 0.5% of the total votes cast. A recount request must be submitted to the Pennsylvania Secretary of State's office no later than 5 p.m. on the second Thursday after Election Day.
Members of Casey's campaign touted earlier Thursday that they were also confident the senator would finish the campaign with another re-election.
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Reporter Chuck Todd speaks with PA GOP Senate candidate Dave McCormick after visiting Lackawanna Petroleum and Gas College on May 10, 2022, in Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania. (Getty Images)
“The count continues in Pennsylvania,” Casey told Senate spokeswoman Maddy McDaniel earlier Thursday. “Yesterday, the vote margin narrowed by 50,000 votes and this race is now within a half point of the threshold for an automatic recount in Pennsylvania. With tens of thousands more votes to be counted, we are committed to ensuring let the vote of every Pennsylvanian be heard and confident that at the end of this process, Senator Casey will be re-elected.
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Casey has been a member of the Senate since the 2006 cycle. He faced his toughest election battle this year against McCormick, an army veteran and former CEO of hedge fund Bridgewater Associates.