Sen. Bob Casey concedes race against Dave McCormick amid recount, ending Senate career after three terms

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey (D., Pa.) conceded to Republican Dave McCormick on Thursday, formally ending his reelection bid and acknowledging defeat two weeks after the Associated Press declared McCormick’s victory and after a statewide recount of the race had been triggered.

Casey had resisted conceding, citing thousands of votes that still needed to be counted and entering court fights to maximize the number of ballots included. But as final ballots were adjudicated Thursday, Casey’s roughly 16,500-vote deficit was too large to overcome and so large that a recount would not affect it.

“I want to thank the people of Pennsylvania for granting me the privilege of serving them for 28 consecutive years in public office as auditor general, state treasurer, and United States senator,” Casey said. “Every day I served in public office, I’ve fought for Pennsylvania workers, children, seniors, people with disabilities, and our veterans. … It has been the honor of my lifetime.”

Casey said he had called McCormick on Thursday night to congratulate him. He thanked his wife, Terese, and four daughters and the Casey campaign staff.

The concession formally ends Casey’s three-term run in the U.S. Senate and 28 years in public office. It also cements a clean sweep for Republicans of statewide races in Pennsylvania this year.

The son of a well-liked Pennsylvania governor, Casey won six statewide races in the commonwealth before his loss this year to McCormick. Though the Democrat led in the polls for much of the race, McCormick closed the gap in the final weeks of the campaign, eking out the victory by less than half a percentage point.

“Senator Bob Casey dedicated his career to bettering our commonwealth,” McCormick said in a statement on X. “Dina and I want to extend our sincere gratitude to Senator Casey, Terese, and their family for their decades of service, hard work, and personal sacrifice. I am so honored to represent every single citizen in Pennsylvania in the United States Senate and will fight for you every day.”

Hours before Casey’s concession, Gov. Josh Shapiro described his relationship with McCormick as cordial.

“If that’s the person the good people of Pennsylvania chose, of course we’re going to work together to bring home the resources to our commonwealth, to protect the rights and interests of our commonwealth, and I trust we’ll work really well together,” Shapiro told The Inquirer during a visit to Philadelphia.

It was unclear whether Casey’s concession came too late to stop the ongoing recount, which is estimated to cost the state more than $1 million and has been underway for several days. It was slated to be completed by next Tuesday.

The concession dovetailed with the completion of the initial vote count by all 67 counties, separate from the recount.

“As the first count of ballots is completed, Pennsylvanians can move forward with the knowledge that their voices were heard,” Casey said. “This race was one of the closest in our commonwealth’s history, decided by less than a quarter of a point. I’m grateful to the thousands of people who worked to make sure every eligible vote cast could be counted.”

Casey had an opportunity last week to decline a recount but chose to proceed, prompting accusations from Republicans that he was drawing out the process and casting doubt on the election system.

The weeks since the Associated Press called the race were fraught with legal battles between Casey and McCormick as their legal teams duked it out in courtrooms and in front of county election boards over the fate of handfuls of provisional and mail ballots.

A handful of Democratic-led county election boards defied the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s orders and voted to count undated ballots. The court reiterated that those ballots shouldn’t count after McCormick and the Republican National Committee sued, but Casey sought to defend the counties’ decisions in court.

The two campaigns also went to court to fight over the fate of certain provisional ballots.

Even as Casey suspends his campaign, those fights will likely continue and eventual rulings will affect which ballots are and are not counted in future races.

Casey is the only Democratic Senate candidate in a swing state to fall short this year, a surprising outcome given that his race at one point looked to be a more likely hold for Democrats than races the party ultimately won in Wisconsin, Michigan, Nevada, and Arizona. But Trump also won by a larger margin in Pennsylvania than in those swing states.

Casey was often called “Mr. Pennsylvania,” and his subdued, statesmanly style made him a largely uncontroversial candidate who in the past had outperformed the top of the ticket.

Democratic praise for Casey and his long career poured in quickly Thursday.

U.S. Sen. John Fetterman (D., Pa.), who served alongside Casey for the last two years of his tenure, posted a photograph to X of the two of them standing side by side. He touted Casey as a mentor.

“His legacy is a better Pennsylvania,” Fetterman said.

Lt. Gov. Austin Davis similarly praised Casey on social media, saying the senator “embodies what it means to be a true public servant, and he has spent his life working to help Pennsylvania families, workers, kids and seniors.”

McCormick ran a campaign framing Casey’s quieter demeanor as weak, contrasting it with his own military service and experience in the finance world. He questioned what Casey, whose legislative accomplishments often ran under the radar, had to show for 18 years in office. And he tied Casey to the deeply unpopular President Joe Biden, who has been a close ally of Casey, a fellow Scranton native.

And McCormick ran a strong campaign following his first bid for the office in 2022, when he lost the GOP primary to Mehmet Oz by fewer than 1,000 votes.

McCormick’s personal story resonated. Though Democrats tried to attack his dual residency in Connecticut (which he maintained until June), McCormick had bona fide Pennsylvania roots, starting in Western Pennsylvania and then growing up in Bloomsburg, where his father was the president of the state university in the city.

The race saw more than $300 million in spending by the campaigns, their parties, and outside groups. The largest outside spender was Keystone Renewal, a pro-McCormick super PAC backed primarily by finance industry billionaires, some of whom knew the Republican from his days at Bridgewater Associates.

The PAC’s spending was crucial to making McCormick financially competitive against Casey, who was still sending out fundraising solicitations long after Election Day as the recount continued.

Casey, who was casting votes in Washington this week, said in his concession statement that throughout his time in office he had been guided by an inscription on the finance building in Harrisburg.

“All public service is a trust, given in faith and accepted in honor,” he said, quoting the inscription. “Thank you for your trust in me for all these years, Pennsylvania.”

Staff writer Aliya Schneider contributed to this article.