Early Wednesday morning, the closely watched U.S. Senate election in Pennsylvania between Democratic incumbent Bob Casey Jr. (left) and Republican challenger Dave McCormick (right) was too close to call.

Casey led for most of the campaign but the race became tighter in the last days.

Sam DeMarco, Allegheny Republican Committee chair, told McCormick fans gathered in Pittsburgh shortly after 11:15 p.m. that the early results were “very encouraging”.

He said, “We are going to make history this evening.”

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Casey’s spokesperson Maddy McDaniel stated that the campaign is “confident in our path to win.”

She said, “We will make sure that we count each vote.”

McCormick’s victory would unseat a three-term incumbent who had a very high level of name recognition. Casey is a moderate centrist who has been in Pennsylvania public office since 1996. Casey’s dad was the governor of Pennsylvania. McCormick is a West Point graduate, Gulf War veteran and former chief executive of a hedge fund. He received tens millions from a super PAC that was funded by billionaires in the finance industry.

The race may not decide control of the Senate, given that Republicans gained seats in West Virginia & Ohio. However, it can play a significant role in determining how strong the GOP majority is expected to be. If Casey, and a few other Democratic incumbents, survive the election cycle, Republicans have little room for defections.

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Both campaigns anticipated a close race, despite Casey’s significant lead in the polls due to Pennsylvanian voters being more familiar with him. McCormick’s popularity grew in part due to the months-long blitz of TV ads. The contest was widely considered a toss up in the last weeks.

Spending by campaigns, parties and outside groups totaled more than $300,000,000. Keystone Renewal was the largest outside spender. It is a pro McCormick super-PAC, which is backed by finance industry billionaires. Some of them knew McCormick from his time at Connecticut’s Bridgewater.

McCormick narrowly lost to Mehmet Oz in the GOP Senate primary of 2022, but this time he found a message which resonated with voters who were worried about the economy and willing to support a candidate aligned to former President Donald Trump.

McCormick has a “great background in business,” Mary Dodgi said, an 80-year-old retired teacher from Ross Township, North Hills, Pittsburgh, who was a registered Democrat until a decade earlier. McCormick, and Trump, said Dodgi, now 80, a retired teacher who lives in Ross Township, North Hills of Pittsburgh, was a registered Democrat until ten years ago.

Casey supporters preferred the moderate message delivered by the Scranton native who served as State Auditor General and State Treasurer before making headlines nationally in 2006 when he defeated conservative U.S. Senator Rick Santorum.

Michael Marko, age 66, who volunteered outside the Cione Rec Center polls in Port Richmond, Port Richmond, on Tuesday, stated that Casey, in his opinion, was the “most significant candidate on the ballot.”

Marko stated that Casey would keep Trump at a distance.

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Casey has shifted his politics to the left on many issues, including abortion and marriage for same-sex couples. He has maintained a populist agenda in economics, supporting organized labour, opposing attempts to restrict the gas industry and fighting against free-trade agreements, such as those proposed by Democratic Presidents.

Casey’s message on inflation, which he refers to as “greedflation,” and blames on corporations instead of government spending, was adopted by the Kamala Harris campaign for Vice President and other Democrats this year.

Casey is a rank-and-file Democratic senator who preaches the virtues of bipartisan civility, while McCormick is a clean-cut Army man-turned-businessman. While neither man was afraid to attack the other during the campaign, the race had little drama. Voters were faced with a choice between a career politician or a plutocratic, newcomer.

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McCormick was questioned about his connections to the Commonwealth throughout the race. It was reported this year that McCormick flew back on private jets to Connecticut where one of his children from a prior marriage still lived.

These questions have deterred many lifelong Republican voters. Joyce Sanyour, 70 years old, said that her decision to vote in this election was influenced by her beliefs on abortion and her concern about political incivility. “And I don’t know where Dave McCormick resides,” she said.

By Tuesday evening, Casey’s supporters in Scranton seemed deflated.

Eunice Gray, 52 said, “As the evening progressed, it just got sadder and more sad,” before she got into her car to drive the 40 minutes back home to Stroudsburg. “It’s like 2016, not 2020.”

Curtis Gray said that he is worried about the future of America if Trump or McCormick win.

He said, “This country has enough divisions.”