Pennsylvania Race for US Senate Seat Heads to Recount

(Left) Republican Senate candidate Dave McCormick in an undated file photograph; (Right) Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) in an undated file photograph. Getty Images

The race to represent Pennsylvania in the U.S. Senate is headed to a recount, Pennsylvania’s top election official said on Nov. 13.

The margin between Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) and Sen.-elect Dave McCormick (R-Pa.) is within 0.5 percent of the total number of votes, which triggers a mandatory recount under state law, Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt announced.

McCormick has 3.38 million votes, which is 48.9 percent, to Casey’s 3.35 million, which is 48.5 percent, according to the Pennsylvania Department of State.

Counties must start the recount no later than Nov. 20, the department said. Counties must complete the recount by noon on Nov. 26 and report the results to Schmidt by noon the following day.

The results of the recount will not be made public until Nov. 27.

The recount will cost at least $1 million in taxpayer money, according to estimates.

The most recent automatic recount occurred in 2022, in the Republican primary battle between McCormick and Dr. Mehmet Oz. The latter ended up emerging from the primary but lost in the general election to Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.).

Recounts typically change no more than hundreds of votes.

McCormick joined the 2024 race to challenge Casey, who has been in office since 2007.

The Associated Press and a number of other outlets have called the race in favor of the Republican businessman, who attended orientation for new senators this week in Washington and posed for a picture by his new office.

Casey has declined to concede as of yet.

“Across our Commonwealth, close to 7 million people cast their votes in a free and fair election,” he wrote on social media platform X on Nov. 12. “The American democratic process was born in Pennsylvania and that process will play out.”

“Senator-elect McCormick’s lead is insurmountable, which the AP made clear in calling the race. A recount will be a waste of time and taxpayer money, but it is Senator Casey’s prerogative,” a spokesperson for McCormick’s campaign told news outlets in a statement. “Senator-elect McCormick knows what it’s like to lose an election and is sure Senator Casey will eventually reach the right conclusion.”

Casey had the opportunity to waive the recount but did not do so.

McCormick’s campaign and other Republicans have filed several lawsuits after the election, including one that challenges the Bucks County Board of Elections decision to count hundreds of ballots that were undated or not correctly dated.

“The Board’s decision is legally erroneous because undated or misdated mail ballots are invalid as a matter of law and cannot be counted in the 2024 General Election - as the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has already made clear,” the appeal, filed with the Court of Common Pleas in Bucks County, stated.

The state’s top court said on Nov. 1 that mail-in ballots without dates cannot be counted.

The board did not immediately respond to a request for comment.