McCormick to go to Washington for Senate orientation over Schumer objections

Republican Dave McCormick said Monday he is off to Washington, D.C. for freshman orientation at the U.S. Senate, even as the chamber’s Democratic leaders are withholding an invitation while waiting for the remaining votes to be counted in Pennsylvania.

The Associated Press Friday declared McCormick the winner in an upset victory, but his opponent, Democratic incumbent Sen. Bob Casey, has not conceded.

“Looking forward to joining the Senate freshman class of 2025 for orientation this week!” McCormick posted on X on Monday. “I’m honored to represent the people of Pennsylvania, and will fight hard to make sure their voices are heard in Washington. Let’s get to work!”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he won’t invite McCormick to orientation until the race is fully decided.

“With over 100,000 ballots left to be counted in Pennsylvania, the race has not been decided. As is custom, we will invite the winner once the votes are counted,” a spokesperson for Schumer said in a statement to Politico on Sunday.

The Casey campaign believes the remaining votes will put the three-term incumbent over the top. The McCormick campaign disagrees.

McCormick, 59, of Pittsburgh, leads by 40,000 votes and has a margin over Casey of 49% to 48.4%.

There are an estimated 109,000 ballots left, according to The AP.

About 8,000 provisional ballots have been counted, according to the Pennsylvania Department of State.

Republicans across the country have lobbied for McCormick, a former hedge fund CEO who is on the cusp of his first foray into public office.

Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley and Maine Sen. Susan Collins said McCormick won the race and he should be at orientation.

Maddy McDaniel, a Casey campaign spokesperson, reaffirmed Monday that the senator is staying in the race until the every vote is counted.

“As state officials have made clear, counties across Pennsylvania are still processing ballots and need time to tabulate remaining votes,” McDaniel said.

“There are more than 100,000 ballots left to be counted — including tens of thousands of provisional ballots in counties favorable to Senator Casey – and just yesterday, officials reaffirmed that tens of thousands of mail ballots remain. Pennsylvanians deserve to have their voices heard, and the process of tabulating votes will continue in the coming days.”

One of those counties that has votes still to count is Allegheny, where an estimated 12,680 provisional ballots have yet to be tallied.

McCormick’s lead is currently at 0.6 percentage point over Casey. If that narrows to within 0.5 percentage point, the race would be subject to an automatic recount under state law.