U.S. Senator Bob Casey (Democrat of Pennsylvania) and Republican Dave McCormick have agreed on terms for a single debate, though both campaigns have expressed interest in more debates.
Casey, who is seeking a fourth term in the U.S. Senate, and McCormick, a former hedge fund manager who served in President George W. Bush’s administration, have confirmed they will face off in an Oct. 3 debate in Harrisburg moderated by Dennis Owens from ABC27.
In delayed April, Casey and McCormick agreed that take part in three debates ahead of the general election in Harrisburg, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
McCormick’s campaign sent out a press release on June 10 and another on August 29 announcing that he had accepted an invitation from WPXI to a debate in Pittsburgh to be hosted by Lisa Sylvester.
However, on Wednesday, Casey’s campaign announced that it had accepted invitations to the debate from another Pittsburgh station, KDKA, for an Oct. 9 debate, as well as from Philadelphia station 6ABC for an Oct. 15 debate.
Casey and McCormick had not yet agreed Thursday to debate terms beyond the Oct. 3 event in Harrisburg.
In 2022, Democrat John Fetterman and Republican Mehmet Oz met on one pre-election debate in Harrisburg, moderated by Owens and Sylvester.
During Casey’s last successful re-election campaign in 2018, he debated Republican challenger U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta twice before the general electiononce in Philadelphia and once in Pittsburgh.
Because Casey and McCormick were their parties’ only candidates in the April primaries, both had been preparing for the general election for months.
The race is expected to be one of the most costly Senate fights in the country this cycle, as both candidates have best fundraising quarters.
Throughout the cycle, most polls show Casey with a lead of several points over McCormick, although some recent polls have been within or close to the margin of error. Many national rating agencies, including (*3*)Cook Political Reportrate the race between Casey and McCormick as “Democratic in the lead,” while the race for the state’s 19 electoral votes between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump is “uncertain.”
