Republican Dave McCormick had a razor-thin advantage over Democratic incumbent Bob Casey Jr. in Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate race as election results continued to come in Wednesday.
Casey had not conceded, and McCormick had not declared victory at the time Metro went to print. Major news organizations, including the Associated Press, had not called the race, as of late Wednesday afternoon.
McCormick’s lead represented less than 0.5% of the total vote share – with a margin of less than 31,000 ballots in an election where more than 6.5 million Pennsylvanians voted, according to preliminary, unofficial state results.
The Pennsylvania Department of State, in a statement Wednesday afternoon, said that election officials “expect there to be tens of thousands” of provision ballots, which will begin being counted Thursday.
McCormick is a veteran of the First Gulf War who served in President George W. Bush’s administration and was most recently CEO of Bridgewater Associates, a massive hedge fund. His first attempt at a U.S. Senate run ended in defeat two years ago, when he fell in the GOP primary to celebrity doctor Dr. Oz, who ultimately lost to Democrat John Fetterman.
Casey, whose father served as Pennsylvania governor, has held his Senate seat since 2007.
Republicans are set to take control of the Senate, even if McCormick does not win; however, his victory would strengthen their majority as Donald Trump returns to the White House.
Control of the U.S. House of Representatives remained unclear Wednesday, with dozens of races across the country still too close to call.
None of the Congressional contests in Philadelphia were as tight as the McCormick-Casey race.
Democratic U.S. Mary Gary Scanlon was reelected, receiving about 65% of the tally in the 5th district, which covers sections of South and Southwest Philadelphia, along with parts of the city’s southern and western suburbs.
Her GOP challenger, military veteran Alfeia “Alfe” Goodwin, posted Wednesday on Facebook that she is already planning to run again for the position in 2026.
In the 2nd district, U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle, a Democrat who took office in 2015, easily earned another two-year term, garnering 71% of votes in a contest with Republican Aaron Bashir.
Incumbent Democrat Dwight Evans, a longtime state representative prior to his time in Washington, D.C., was reelected after running unopposed Tuesday in the 3rd Congressional District.
