Pennsylvania Senate Race Heads To A Recount

The Associated Press declared Republican Dave McCormick the winner on Nov. 7. But the closeness of the results have triggered an automatic recount.

The results of a hotly contested Senate race in Pennsylvania are headed to an automatic recount after neither candidate won by a large enough margin, Pennsylvania’s top elections official announced Wednesday.

The Associated Press declared Republican Dave McCormick, a former hedge fund manager, the winner over Sen. Bob Casey (D) on Nov. 7, two days after voting concluded. If officially certified, McCormick’s win would grant Republicans, who have already retaken the Senate, a 53-seat majority in the upper legislative chamber.

But Casey has refused to accept the AP’s race call, citing the tens of thousands of provisional, mail-in and absentee ballots that have yet to be counted.

What’s more, Pennsylvania law mandates a recount if an election is won by less than half of a percentage point. And on Wednesday, with more than 80,000 provisional, mail-in, and absentee ballots still outstanding, Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt declared that the “unofficial results” mandated a recount, since McCormick’s lead is still only 0.43%.

“Senator-Elect McCormick’s lead is insurmountable, which the AP made clear in calling the race,” McCormick campaign spokesperson Elizabeth Gregory said in a statement responding to the recount announcement. “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.”