Opinion: On the level, 2024 Senate Election presents Pennsylvanians with a stark choice

In a concerning development, Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate race is already flowing with money from out of state billionaires. Wall Street executives Ken Griffin—who gave $10 million alone—and Paul Singer combined with just 32 other individuals to give $18 million to a super PAC supporting Dave McCormick’s candidacy. 

McCormick previously lost to Dr. Mehmet Oz in the 2022 Republican primary despite spending $14 million of his own money on his campaign. A centerpiece of the campaign was his fervent opposition to abortion rights; he called the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade a “huge victory.” McCormick is doing more of the same this time around, as his campaign has failed to say whether he supports a bill to protect IVF.

In addition to wanting to take away our freedoms, McCormick, a former hedge fund executive, has a record of shipping American jobs overseas to China and India, including the jobs of workers in Pittsburgh. Unfortunately, McCormick’s ties to China do not end there.

He has built a lucrative career at one of the largest hedge funds in the world while investing billions of dollars in China and proclaiming that the United States owes “much of the strength and vitality of our economic relationship today to the remarkable success of China’s economic development.”

Someone should tell Connecticut resident Dave McCormick that Pennsylvania is a center of agriculture and manufacturing and the United States owes a lot of its economic strength to our commonwealth–not to China.

One would think McCormick’s tone would change once he started campaigning for public office, but in recent days he has not been shy about his continued corporate interests. At a recent campaign stop, McCormick let voters know his wife’s, “…on the board of Exxon,” the oil and gas giant.

It is clear McCormick does not and has never prioritized the best interests of Pennsylvanians. This should be no surprise to voters. Look no further than who immediately endorsed McCormick upon his announcement: the same PA GOP House delegation that attempted to overturn our commonwealth’s free and fair election in 2020, as well as noted conspiracy theorist and 2022 GOP gubernatorial nominee Doug Mastriano.

McCormick is aiming to join these very Pennsylvania MAGA Republicans in Washington who have spent this congress toying with shutting down our government, proposing extreme social measures, and playing politics with our national security and the issue of immigration.

On top of aligning with the MAGA wing of Pennsylvania, McCormick is a long-time resident of Connecticut. When the Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution, they created Congress so every citizen in every state could be represented by their fellow Pennsylvanians or fellow Connecticuters.

Instead, the Republican Party is doing a disservice to voters by not backing a candidate from the commonwealth or at least having a competitive primary. Why should the people of Pennsylvania be given the option of a Connecticut man who has made a career representing the interests of Wall Street?

The 2024 Senate election will not only be about Republican opposition to reproductive rights, common sense gun safety measures, and at times, democracy itself. It will center on voting for the progress Senator Bob Casey has made for Pennsylvania and the hope for continued progress into the future.

Senator Casey and his accomplishments this term alone–including the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, CHIPS Act to jumpstart manufacturing and better compete with China, Inflation Reduction Act to lower prescription drug costs, PACT Act for veterans’ healthcare, and Bipartisan Safer Communities Act–have created jobs and strengthened Pennsylvania’s economy, lowered health care costs for the middle class, and made our commonwealth a safer place.

Based on his character and record, it is a safe bet that Senator Casey will continue to fight for Pennsylvanians, including protecting abortion rights, enacting universal background checks, expanding healthcare for children, countering China, and preserving Social Security and Medicare at all costs.    

This election will present a stark choice. A millionaire out of stater who prioritizes corporate interests and restricting our freedoms or a native Pennsylvanian who has made it his life’s work fighting for the interests of the people of our commonwealth.