Former President Donald Trump is now supporting Pennsylvania Republican Senate candidate Dave McCormick, whereas he previously supported a different candidate during McCormick’s initial Senate campaign two years ago.
“Tonight, I formally extend my support for David McCormick. He is an excellent fellow. He desires to captain an excellent ship. He was profoundly successful and is an intelligent individual. Trump proclaimed on Saturday, while speaking at a large rally in Schnecksville, Pennsylvania, “He has given up a lot to accomplish this.”
Last year, McCormick, a former hedge fund executive, West Point alumnus, combat veteran of the Gulf War, and Treasury Department official during the administration of former President George W. Bush, initiated his second Senate campaign. He is running unopposed in the April 23 primary of the crucial battleground state and will face longstanding Democratic Sen. Bob Casey Jr. in November.
“To clarify, he is David McCormick, the nominee of the Republican Party.” “Vote for him, because Casey is a complete non-factor,” Trump emphasized.
Prior to being elected to the Senate in 2006, Casey, the progeny of a well-liked former governor, assumed the roles of Pennsylvania’s auditor general and treasurer for a decade.
The Pennsylvania Senate election is one of several nationwide that will likely determine whether or not the Republicans regain the chamber’s majority.
At present, the Democrats hold a 51-49 majority in the U.S. Senate. However, Republicans anticipate a favorable Senate landscape for this year, as the Democrats will be defending 23 of the 34 seats that are in play.
Three of those seats—West Virginia, Ohio, and Montana—are located in conservative states that Trump carried over in his 2020 election loss to President Biden. Democrat Joe Manchin is not seeking re-election in West Virginia. In addition, Pennsylvania is among five crucial battleground states in the general election where Democrats are vying for seats. Former Republican governor Larry Hogan is competing for an open Senate seat in blue Maryland, which could pose a problem for the Democrats.
McCormick did not attend the rally on Saturday. Fox News was informed by the candidate’s campaign that he had a pre-arranged familial obligation in Schnecksville, Pennsylvania, long before Trump’s recent announcement of his rally in the Lehigh Valley, a fiercely contested region of the northeastern swing state.
McCormick expressed gratitude to Trump for the endorsement in a social media post that followed the rally.
He stated, “President Trump, thank you.” “Together we will deliver a big win for Pennsylvania and America in November.”
McCormick participated in a contentious and packed contest for the Republican nomination in 2022. In the end, he was defeated by a razor-thin margin in the nomination contest to Mehmet Oz, a prominent cardiac surgeon and celebrity physician, who won the primary election with the assistance of a late Trump endorsement. In the final analysis, the general election was lost by Oz to the Democrat John Fetterman.
At the time, Trump stated of McCormick, “I don’t know David well, and while he might be a pleasant individual, he’s not MAGA,” in reference to his legions of Make America Great Again supporters and loyalists.
In the current Republican primary, McCormick does not encounter any significant opposition. He received support from the Pennsylvania GOP and longstanding Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell. Additionally, the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the party’s Senate campaign wing, encouraged him to run.
McCormick lent his support to Trump in early December, following the former president’s decisive triumphs in the coast-to-coast Super Tuesday contests and the withdrawal of Nikki Haley, his sole remaining opponent for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
This is the third visit to Pennsylvania by Trump this year. On February 9, he addressed NRA members in Harrisburg who were in attendance at the organization’s Great American Outdoor Show. A few days later, he made an unanticipated detour in Philadelphia at the major trade exhibition Sneaker Con to sell sneakers bearing the Trump brand.
Four years ago, in the presidential election, Biden narrowly defeated Trump in Pennsylvania, one of six battleground states, to secure the White House.
The majority of the most recent Pennsylvania public opinion polls indicate that Biden and Trump will vie for the state’s 19 electoral votes in a close contest.
On Tuesday, the president embarks on a three-day series of events in Pennsylvania, his birthplace. During this time, his political advisers assert that Biden intends to emphasize his intentions to increase taxes on the most affluent Americans and corporations, while also drawing comparisons to Trump regarding economic matters.
A portion of Biden’s upbringing was spent in Scranton, where he delivers a speech to begin his three-day journey. As he has made populist appeals to Americans, the president has visited the working-class city in northeastern Pennsylvania on multiple occasions.
Wednesday will find the president in Pittsburgh, and on Thursday he will deliver a campaign address in Philadelphia. Biden’s visit to Pennsylvania coincides with Trump’s historic moment as the first living or former president to stand trial in the United States.
Monday, the hush-money trial against Trump will commence in a courtroom located in New York City.
The ex-president, who is currently under trial on 34 state felony counts, is alleged to have fabricated business records concerning hush-money payments he made to Stormy Daniels during the 2016 election in exchange for her silence regarding his alleged adultery with the adult film actress.
Trump has consistently refuted allegations of tampering with business records and engaging in a carnal encounter with Daniels.
