(The Center Square) – Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate race is heading toward a recount.
Democrat Bob Casey Jr. has not yet conceded to Republican challenger Dave McCormick, despite national media agreement that the two-term senator cannot close the 29,000-vote gap that remains.
State law triggers a recount when the winner’s margin is less than 0.5 percentage points unless the loser waives the action. Casey trails by just 0.46 points and did not exercise that right.
The automatic recount must be completed before Nov. 27 at noon. In an email on Wednesday, the Department of State said more than 80,000 votes – including 60,366 provisional ballots and 20,155 mail-in and absentee ballots – have yet to be counted across the state.
McCormick’s campaign legally challenged as many as 20,000 provisional ballots collected in Philadelphia that had missing or unmatched signatures or lacked the required secrecy envelope. The state confirmed that county election boards “have not made yet made a final resolution regarding their validity or eligibility to be counted.”
The Associated Press, the standard-bearer of race calling, declared McCormick the winner on Thursday afternoon after determining that Casey could not win enough of the provisional ballots to close the gap. The Republican former hedge fund CEO attended U.S. Senate orientation in Washington D.C. on Tuesday as he prepares for swearing-in day in January.
Casey’s camp has refused to concede and accused McCormick of disenfranchising voters by challenging the ballots.
“Senator-elect McCormick’s lead is insurmountable, which the AP made clear in calling the race,” said Elizabeth Gregory, McCormick’s spokeswoman. “A recount will be a waste of time and taxpayer money, but it is Senator Casey’s prerogative. Senator-elect McCormick knows what it’s like to lose an election and is sure Senator Casey will eventually reach the right conclusion.”
Gregory’s comment references McCormick’s loss to Dr. Mehmet Oz in the 2022 Republican U.S. Senate primary in a bid to succeed retiring Republican Sen. Pat Toomey. Democrat John Fetterman won the race by nearly 5 percentage points.
The department estimates the recount will cost $1 million. Since 2004, eight races have been close enough to trigger automatic recounts, though only four candidates ever exercised the right. The results were reaffirmed in all four cases.
