Vice President Kamala Harris’s sudden entry into the presidential election has upended the electoral math to reach the White House, growing her levels of support above those of President Joe Biden in some polls while dampening it in others. All signs point to Pennsylvania being the pivotal battleground that may determine the election, and a new poll in the state’s U.S. Senate race indicates that Republicans are gaining traction.
Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA), who is seeking his fourth six-year term, faces a pugnacious challenger in Dave McCormick, a businessman and former U.S. Treasury undersecretary for international affairs. In a notable break from previous polls, McCormick, 59, is now tied with the 64-year-old incumbent, according to a survey from CNN and SSRS. Nearly 800 likely voters were asked to choose between the who men, each of whom drew 46%. Another poll by Wick, also conducted during the final week of August, gave Sen. Casey a 2% lead, the smallest on record for the past several months, according to FiveThirtyEight.
Control of the U.S. Senate hinges on Pennsylvania and several contests where weak incumbents or open seats offer Republicans a high likelihood of success. Voters locally have ranked the economy as their number one issue this year followed by threats to democracy, immigration, health care, housing affordability, and abortion access, previous polls showed. Just last week, presidential pulling showed Harris and Trump tied at 48% with 3% of Pennsylvania voters remaining undecided and 1% saying they would vote for a third-party candidate. The state’s general election ballot will include presidential candidates for the Green and Libertarian Parties; Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., the most notable alternative, ended his flagging campaign last month and endorsed Trump.
McCormick has seized on migrant troubles in the state’s capital of Philadelphia, burdening Sen. Casey with the responsibility of record migrant crossings over the past several years. A new ad highlighted by Fox News tells the story of Blair County Sheriff Jim Ott who lost his son to an overdose from fentanyl that was carried across the southern border. “If the border was secure, chances are my son would be alive today. We can’t bring back the people we’ve lost. But we can get rid of the weak politicians like Bob Casey who let it happen,” he said. The $2.2 million ad buy is a critical injection of spending to raise Casey’s disapproval rating while boosting McCormick’s low name recognition, one of the biggest challenges in taking on an incumbent.
In response to McCormick’s attack, Sen. Casey’s spokesperson told Fox News in a statement, “Senator Casey is working hand in hand with law enforcement to stop the flow of fentanyl, and has passed bipartisan legislation to sanction Chinese fentanyl producers. Meanwhile, David McCormick invested millions in China’s largest producer of fentanyl and even opposed a bipartisan border deal that would’ve helped prevent fentanyl from being trafficked across our border.”
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