Former PA Sen. Bob Casey (D) has yet to concede victory to presumptive Sen. Dave McCormick (R) as a statewide recount begins on Monday, Nov 18.
McCormick currently leads by 18,000 votes out of almost 6.9 million, according to the Associated Press (AP) on Monday. Any margin less than 0.5% triggers an automatic recount, according to Pennsylvania state law.
Casey missed the deadline of last Wednesday to concede and avoid triggering a recount.
Most expect provisional ballots to narrow McCormick’s lead even further. AP and other publications who have already called the race for McCormick still say that is not enough for Casey to find victory.
Provisional ballots are cast on election day but are set aside while officials determine voter eligibility. They typically lean Democrat.
Casey’s campaign said on social media that McCormick’s team was “trying to disenfranchise Pennsylvania voters” by challenging some provisional ballots in court.
McCormick’s campaign argues that it is only challenging ballots that it is allowed to challenge.
The final deadline for PA counties to begin their recounts is Wednesday, Nov. 20. They must be completed by next Tuesday, Nov. 26, and results must be reported to the PA state secretary by noon the next day.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D) rescinded his previous comment that Cormick would not be invited to Senate orientation last Wednesday. McCormick attended the orientation.
Utah Sen. Mike Lee (R) threatened not to seat Casey if he does not concede.
In a statement on X, Lee said, “If Bob Casey doesn’t concede, Pennsylvania keeps counting illegal votes, & Casey relies on those votes to claim victory, the Senate could refuse to seat him.”
Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court has stated that mail-in ballots without an accurate date on the return envelope cannot be counted, which three counties challenged.
Despite the challenge, the court did not change its’ position and the ballots cannot be counted.
The last counties that need to be counted are McCormick-hopefuls, which the AP uses as their reasoning for calling the race. Additionally, the AP states that there is no potential path to victory for Casey.
Casey has not commented further on the election results, the recount or anything else.
