HARRISBURG, Pa. — Sen. Bob Casey raised eyebrows while debating GOP challenger Dave McCormick Thursday night when the Scranton native refused to say which Democrat would be a better fit for Pennsylvania — Vice President Kamala Harris or former candidate President Donald Trump. Biden.
Casey initially dodged ABC27 moderator Dennis Owens’ question, then bit her lip before responding when pressed.
“Oh, I don’t know, Dennis. We’ll never know the answer to that,” the Democrat said. “Voters are going to decide.”
Of course, the decision of the approximately 14.5 million Americans who voted for Biden — Another Scranton native – This year’s Democratic primaries were thrown out the window.
The Casey-McCormick face-off in Harrisburg was the first of three planned debates; They have agreed to meet again on October 15 in Philadelphia and an unspecified date in Pittsburgh.
McCormick attempted to portray Casey as “weak” and “liberal” in their first matchup, equating the senator’s voting record with that of Biden and Harris, while his campaign’s opposition website repeatedly criticized the incumbent. I told, CaseyLies.com,
“You must ask yourself: Why is a senator with an 18-year track record, who should be able to run his entire campaign based on his record, running on me with negative attacks, most of which are false?” McCormick said.
Casey focused his attacks primarily on McCormick’s previous residence in Connecticut while he was CEO of the hedge fund Bridgewater Associates.
When KC cited August 2023 particles The businessman fired back, accusing McCormick of lying about his Pennsylvania residence.
The Republican responded, “The fact that he called some reporter at the Associated Press to corroborate his lies or to reinforce his lies doesn’t mean it’s true.”
McCormick moved back to Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood in 2022 to run for Senate but grew up in Bloomsburg.
Both men accused each other of not standing up to the more “extremist” factions of their party, particularly on border security.
McCormick – who has visited the US-Mexico border twice – chided Casey for neglecting to visit there.
“Senator, you talk a lot about the border. I suggest you go,” McCormick said. “I’ve been to the border more times than the senator and the border czar combined.”
“I think Mr. McCormick knows more about border security than Border Patrol. I don’t think so,” Casey replied.
Casey also went after McCormick for not standing with former President Donald Trump when he persuaded Senate Republicans to kill the bipartisan border bill.
“The leader of your own party has to take leadership and support the bill,” Casey said.
McCormick was not serving in the government when he was a GOP senator. killed bill earlier this year.
At the Americans for Prosperity Action Watch Party, attendees praised McCormick’s performance.
Bill Gramlich, a 60-year-old self-employed home-improvement contractor, has volunteered with AFP Action in Pennsylvania for the past eight years and campaigned on McCormick’s behalf this year.
Gramlich told The Post that this election feels different: McCormick is a “more viable candidate,” he said. (Controversial Dr. Mehmet Oz lost to Democratic Senator John Fetterman in 2022.)
“She’s energetic and people are very excited about her running in this election against Bob Casey,” he said.
“His credentials are really great, he’s a top leader,” he said, citing the West Point graduate’s professional accomplishments and service as a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division.
AFP PA senior adviser Emily Green said her team of more than 230 campaigners aimed to knock on 1 million doors before Election Day – and had already reached more than 750,000 doors since April.
He said that “no one is feeling prosperous under this current economy,” so they are looking for change.
“They want something different,” she said. “They really want to achieve prosperity, and they’re not doing it through the leadership of Senator Bob Casey.”
(TagstoTranslate)Politics(T)US News(T)Debates(T)Democrats(T)Pennsylvania(T)Republicans(T)Senate(T)Swing States 2024
