Trump-backed challenger, longtime Dem senator face off in heated battleground debate

Democratic Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey and Republican challenger Dave McCormick squared off in their first debate Thursday evening, less than five weeks ahead of what is expected to be one of the most closely watched races this election cycle. 

Casey and McCormick took the debate stage Thursday at 8 p.m. in Harrisburg, where the two traded barbs over issues such as the economy and inflation, immigration, abortion. The race, which is rated as “leans Democrat” by the Cook Political Report, is expected to be one of the tightest Senate races across the country, with Casey himself acknowledging earlier this year that it will be a “close, tough race.”

Casey has long been a Pennsylvania Democratic stalwart, first winning his election to the U.S. Senate in 2007. The Casey name also has deep roots in the state, with Bob Casey Sr., the senator’s father, serving as the Keystone State’s governor from 1987 to 1995, following years of serving in various other elected roles.

McCormick is an Army combat veteran and former CEO of hedge fund Bridgewater Associates, who served as the Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security as well as Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs under former President George W. Bush’s administration. Former President Donald Trump endorsed McCormick in April, lauding him as a “a good man” who “wants to run a good ship.”

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The Senate race comes as the federal election spotlights Pennsylvania once again as a key battleground state that will likely determine the outcome of the presidential election. Former President Donald Trump narrowly won the state in his successful 2016 election against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, while President Biden declared victory in the Keystone State in the 2020 election. 

As the pair squared off for the first of two debates ahead of Nov. 5, Fox News Digital compiled the top five moments of Thursday’s event. 

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Casey, McCormick weigh in on federal election: ‘very close’ race 

Casey and McCormick both weighed in on the federal election, including Casey lauding Harris following his staunch support of Biden before the president ultimately dropped out of the 2024 race as concerns about his mental acuity and age mounted over the summer. 

“From your perspective, who is the better candidate for Pennsylvania? Biden or Harris?” moderator and ABC27 anchor Dennis Owens asked Casey. 

“I think Vice President Harris, who’s running a strong campaign, I think she’ll carry Pennsylvania. It’s going to be very close, just like the Senate race will be close. But she’s running a strong campaign. But the people of our state have to make two basic decisions – in addition to other statewide races. They have decided in the presidential race, and they have to decide our race, and this race is very clear,” Casey responded. 

When asked whether he believes Biden or Harris would be a better president for Pennsylvania voters, Casey brushed off delivering a direct answer. 

“Oh, I don’t know, Dennis. I mean, we’ll never know the answer to that, but the voters are gonna make a decision,” he said. 

McCormick, on the other hand, was asked if he could offer one example where he does not agree with Trump after slamming Casey during the debate for overwhelmingly voting with Biden over the last three and a half years. 

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“[Trump] recently said that he wanted to get rid of the ban on SALT taxes, which Sen. Casey supported, too” McCormick responded. “Listen, that’s a that’s a tax break for millionaires in New York and California at the expense of PA taxpayers. So I wouldn’t support that.”

“But listen, Senator Casey stood next to Joe Biden when he could hardly finish a sentence. We saw this on the debate stage, he said ‘he’s ready to go,'” McCormick continued, referring to Casey’s support of Biden remaining in the presidential race until Biden ultimately dropped out. “Then Sen. Casey said, ‘Kamala Harris is great. You’re going to love her when you get to know her.’ This is a woman who, in the last few years, says she wanted to ban fracking, legalize illegal immigration, give them federal benefits, take away our guns, defund the police. This is her position, so she’s flip-flopped on everything, and Bob Casey standing there by her.”

Trading barbs over ‘lies’

Both candidates accused the other of “lies” throughout the debate, including McCormick touting a new website called CaseyLies.com, and Casey accusing McCormick of misrepresenting himself as a Pennsylvanian. 

“For your viewers tonight, I have a website that’s been established today, it’s just been launched, CaseyLies.com. You can go and see the actual facts by third-party sources of all the things he’s saying. There will be lies throughout. But you should ask yourself, ‘Why is a senator with an 18-year track record, who should be able to run on his record, running his entire campaign with a negative set of attacks on me, most of them lies?’” McCormick said towards the start of the debate. 

McCormick claimed that Casey often launched “lies” at him during the debate because he “doesn’t have a track record” in the Senate to run on. 

Casey shot back during the debate that McCormick has misrepresented himself as a full-fledged Pennsylvanian. 

“We’ve heard a couple of times tonight about telling lies, but probably the biggest lie told in this whole election, that probably most Pennsylvanians have never heard a bigger lie, was the lie when my opponent said he lived in Pennsylvania, when he was living in Connecticut. The Associated Press on August the 14th, 2023, did a story that proved that he was living in Connecticut,” Casey said. 

McCormick defended that he was born in Pennsylvania and has spent “the majority of my life” there, but also lived in Connecticut for years when he served as CEO of Bridgewater Associates. 

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Casey, McCormick spar over ‘shrinkflation’ vs. inflation

The economy is among the top concerns for voters in Pennsylvania, as well as the nation at large, with both candidates outlining how they would tackle spiraling inflation if re-elected or elected to the Senate, and what they believe is behind the rise in consumers’ costs.  

“Prices are too high, especially when you go to the grocery store to buy food or household items, items that people need every week, or at least every other week. And these big conglomerates, these big corporations, rig those prices and jack them up to levels we’ve never seen, all while they’re getting record profits,” Casey said, while defending his efforts targeting corporations he has accused of “greedflation.” 

So-called greedflation is understood as corporations allegedly exploiting inflation woes by increasing prices on consumers to produce greater profits. 

“We can take it on by passing a price gouging bill to go after those companies, hold them accountable,” Casey said. 

The Democratic senator also addressed his campaign against “shrinkflation,” which he explained as corporations shrinking products for consumers while not lowering prices. 

“We did a report on shrinkflation, which covered a lot of companies around the country. And if that’s happening with regard to a Pennsylvania company or any other company around the country, they should be held accountable. When they take a product, shrink the contents of the product, or what’s in a bag, and don’t shrink the price, that’s deceptive. That’s ripping people off,” he said, adding that such companies should be held legally accountable. 

McCormick shot back that higher costs on Americans in recent years is due to “out of control spending” at the hands of Casey and other Democrats, including Vice President Kamala Harris and President Biden. 

“When you’ve spent your entire life in public service, elected office, 30 years, you’re like a hammer looking for a nail. The cause of inflation is the policies, the out-of-control spending of Biden, Harris and Casey. Bob Casey voted 100% of the time for that $5 trillion of new spending. The experts at the time, Larry Summers, the San Francisco Fed, said this would create inflation,” McCormick said. 

“Bob Casey doesn’t understand how the economy works. That’s why he’s trying to do all this economic voodoo stuff with price controls,” he later charged. 

McCormick, Casey clarify their abortion stances 

Casey and McCormick were both grilled about their current abortion stances during the debate, as abortion once again sits atop many voters’ list of election concerns following the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. 

Casey positioned himself as a pro-life Democrat earlier in his career, but he voted to codify abortion protections nationwide following the overturning of Roe. 

“In 2022, when the Supreme Court overturned a 49-year right, it overturned Roe v. Wade, I think everyone had to make a decision, including senators. I made a decision to support the Women’s Health Protection Act. I don’t support Republican efforts to ban abortion across the country,” Casey said. 

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McCormick was questioned about his remarks in 2022 that he supports rare exceptions for abortion, such as when the health of the mother is at risk, and has since said that he supports additional exceptions for abortion. 

“This is an extremely polarizing issue. As you know, I have six daughters, so this is something we spend time talking about. I believe this should be a state’s right. I believe states should decide. Pennsylvania has had a law. It’s been supported by Democrats and Republicans, like was signed into law by the Senator’s father, Governor Casey. I support the three exceptions. I would not favor an abortion ban of any kind,” McCormick responded. 

Immigration: Casey asked about sheriff blaming him for son’s fentanyl overdose 

Casey recently came under fire from a Pennsylvania sheriff who slammed the Democratic senator’s border policies for the influx of fentanyl into the U.S., which the dad said had led to his son’s death. 

“We can’t bring back the people we’ve lost. But we can get rid of the weak politicians like Bob Casey who let it happen,” Blair County Sheriff Jim Ott said in a recent McCormick campaign ad. 

Casey was asked about the sheriff’s remarks during his debate Thursday. 

“Mr. Casey, the Blair County Sheriff, blames you for the fentanyl death of his son, saying you have not done enough to secure the border. What is your response to that,” Owens asked. 

“I met so many families across the state, and whether it’s a sheriff in Blair County or a mom in Allegheny County, Janet that I met, who talked about her daughter, Brianna, this is an awful, awful tragedy for those families. That’s why we need to invest in the strategies that we know work. [McCormick] won’t do that, because he’s weak in the face of the political pressure from his own party. . . . We can solve this problem by investing in the technology, hiring thousands more Border Patrol, so we can inspect every single vehicle coming across the border,” he said. 

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Amid the immigration debate, McCormick blamed the Biden-Harris administration and Casey for the immigration crisis at the southern border. 

“The border crisis is the direct result of the weakness of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. And Bob Casey supported them every second. What chutzpah to run an ad on how tough he is on the border, when he voted against funding for the Border Patrol. He ran an ad in front of the wall that he voted against. He voted for sanctuary cities, he voted for federal benefits for illegal immigrants. And the fentanyl crisis that’s come across our border is the direct result of the weakness of Bob Casey not standing up to these terrible cartels,” McCormick argued. 

The pair have agreed to another debate, next taking the same stage in Philadelphia on Oct. 15. 

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.