Pennsylvania is the perfect state for Republicans to regain the majority in the U.S. Senate. They just need David McCormick.

McCormick, who lost the GOP Senate primary last year, has been mulling the idea of seeking the nomination again for the U.S. Senate. This time, he will be challenging three-term Democratic Senator Bob Casey.

McCormick attended local events for the Republican Party, raised money, hired staff and did a book tour to promote his new publication. He also appeared on conservative podcasts. McCormick has done everything a candidate could do, except for formally announcing his candidacy.

Vince Galko is a Republican strategist in northeastern Pennsylvania. He said, “At this stage, if Dave McCormick does not run, it will be the biggest fake in Pennsylvania’s political history.”

Republicans have tried everything to get McCormick on a ticket in 2024 that could feature a rematch between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, in a key battleground state, which is crucial to both the control of the White House as well as the Senate.

McCormick’s circumspection may be due to the fact that he spent a fortune on his own money in order to narrowly lose a primary election.

Some in Pennsylvania are worried that if McCormick does not run, another fringe candidate will win the nomination. This would embarrass their party again.

McCormick’s stalling in announcing his possible candidacy has caused some to scratch their heads.

Rob Gleason is a former state GOP chairman and McCormick’s supporter.

McCormick did not respond to a request for an interview and has never publicly explained his decision-making processes.

McCormick has been ruminating on a timeline that was shifted from Labor Day to Christmas. His openness in expressing his thoughts has effectively frozen the GOP primary field.

Aides are now saying that a decision will be made soon.

McCormick, meanwhile, has received pledges of support even from a primary, including the National Republican Senatorial Committee, a super PAC tied to Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell, and the Senate Leadership Fund.

A McCormick supporter has circulated in recent days a letter expressing McCormick’s support. The letter features a who’s-who of the party brass including the state chair, two representatives of the national committee and 36 out of 67 county chairs.

Some party officials are concerned about the quality of candidates if McCormick does not run.

Sam DeMarco is the Allegheny County GOP Chair who circulates the letter. We don’t know who would run if Dave decided not to. It’s obvious that the Republican Party of Pennsylvania has its eyes on Dave McCormick.”

It’s not hard to understand why Republicans are fond of McCormick. He has a stellar resume, a deep wallet and connections in both the business and political worlds. Last year, he was backed by a super PAC which spent millions of dollars from a list of wealthy donors. Republicans think he’s moderate enough to appeal suburbanites, and stable enough for him to support other candidates.

McCormick is hesitant to run again, but it’s understandable: he lost out on Trump’s endorsement by spending $14 million on his campaign and lost to celebrity heart surgeon Mehmet Oz who was endorsed by Trump.

The state party has less than a month to go before a national embarrassing election in which Oz lost by 5% in a battleground like Pennsylvania, and its hard-right gubernatorial candidate lost by 15%.

Republicans try to portray Biden Casey as weak in public. They claim that the economy is weak and inflation is high.

They also admit that it will be hard to beat Casey. Casey, son of a two-term former governor of Pennsylvania and the longest serving Democrat senator from Pennsylvania, is a stalwart in Pennsylvania’s Democratic political scene.

McCormick also knows he will likely have to deal with Trump as the wildcard on the GOP ticket.

According to a poll conducted by The Associated Press and the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research in August, only 35% of U.S. adult citizens have a positive opinion of Trump. 62% of them have a negative view. Biden is viewed as a positive figure by 44% of Americans, while 52% are unfavorable.

Trump, regardless of his approval ratings, lost the Pennsylvania 2020 election — even if it was by just 1%. He then viciously attacked McCormick in the 2022 primaries, calling McCormick at one point the “candidate for special interests, globalists, and the Washington establishment”.

McCormick claimed in his March book that he had lost Trump’s support to Oz, because he would not say that the 2020 elections were stolen.

Some party officials believe McCormick is most likely to be interested in sharing a ticket. There is still no indication that Trump and McCormick spoke or resolved any hard feelings if there are any.

Gleason stated that McCormick said he was not worried about Trump being the front-runner.

McCormick, on the other hand, has told his allies he will not run in the party primary without an endorsement. This is to save money by avoiding another expensive intra-party race.

The state party meeting on September 30 is fast approaching and there are rumors in the GOP that McCormick may seek to be endorsed at this event.

McCormick has been a favorite of the party’s brass for years, but in recent years, a number pro-Trump Republicans have joined state committee members. It is unclear how these Republicans would react to a McCormick support.

DeMarco stated, “I don’t understand why people wouldn’t endorse him if he were to run for office.” “If there is no one else in the race, I don’t understand how it works.”