Three-term Democratic Sen. Bob Casey has conceded his reelection to Republican candidate David McCormick following a statewide recount in the Pennsylvania Senate race.
Casey posted a video statement on Thursday, announcing that he called McCormick to congratulate him on the race.
His concession comes two weeks after Election Day.
“As the first count of ballots is completed, Pennsylvanians can move forward with the knowledge that their voices were heard, whether their vote was the first to be counted or the last,” Casey said.
The new Senator-elect thanked Casey in a statement and said that he is “honored to represent every single citizen in Pennsylvania.”
Casey’s colleague in the upper chamber, Sen. John Fetterman (R-Pa), also issued a statement after learning of the concession.
“This hits me,” Fetterman wrote in a post on X. “It’s been a supreme honor to have Bob Casey as a colleague, friend, and mentor,” he said.
“His legacy is a better Pennsylvania. Unassuming while delivering for PA for nearly two decades, he fought for working Pennsylvanians and unions, rural communities, seniors and people with disabilities—all of us. Bob Casey was, is, and always will be Pennsylvania’s best senator.”
The difference of votes between the two candidates was well within the 0.5 percent margin of error, triggering an automatic recount.
But the recount became the center of debate in the weeks following the election.
Republicans claimed that Democrats were attempting to count invalid ballots, while Democrats accused Republicans of trying to block enough legitimate votes to prevent Casey from pulling ahead in the highly-contested race.
The Republican National Committee (RNC) filed two lawsuits over the recount debacle. The state Supreme Court ultimately ordered counties not to count mail-in ballots without a handwritten date on the return envelope.
Earlier on Thursday, the Pennsylvania State Department announced that counties completed their initial count of all votes cast and began preparing their results for official certification.
“This is a major step that marks the end of counties’ initial counting processes and signals that counties begin preparing their results for official certification. Thousands of election professionals have been working tirelessly since Nov. 5 to ensure every eligible vote cast by a registered voter is counted accurately. All of Pennsylvania’s election officials deserve our thanks, as well as our continued support while they complete their duties with integrity,” the Pennsylvania State Department posted on X.
McCormick is a military veteran who served as Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs in the Bush administration.
His victory flips the Senate house seat red, expanding the GOP’s majority in the upper chamber. Republicans will have a 53–47 majority in the Senate next year. They also have control of the House and the presidency, completing a GOP trifecta.