New ad accuses Dave McCormick of “profiting off people’s pain” during fentanyl epidemic

US Sen. Bob Casey launched an ad accusing Dave McCormick of profiting off the fentanyl epidemic after McCormick’s company invested $1.7 million in China’s largest fentanyl producer. 

US Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) launched a campaign ad on Thursday highlighting Dave McCormick’s investment in China’s largest fentanyl producer while McCormick served as the CEO of Bridgewater Associates, one of the world’s largest hedge funds. 

Casey is running for reelection this November against McCormick, who was the president of Bridgewater Associates from 2009 to 2020 and then the CEO from 2020 to 2022.

“Over 4,000 Pennsylvanians die each year from fentanyl,” the ad says in its opening seconds.

“Nearly all of it started in China. And while law enforcement and grieving families see a killer, Dave McCormick even saw a way to get even richer. As CEO of Wall Street’s largest hedge fund, McCormick invested millions in China’s biggest fentanyl producer, profiting off people’s pain.”

The Keystone reported last month that McCormick’s hedge fund invested $1.7 million in China’s largest fentanyl producer while he was the CEO. Now, McCormick is campaigning on banning fentanyl calling it a “terrorist threat” and “insidious attack on America.”

“I’ve got an opponent, who, when he was a hedge fund manager, actually invested millions in China’s largest producer of fentanyl,” Casey said during an interview with NPR Morning Edition. “So, that’s going to be a big issue in this race because we’ve lost too many Pennsylvanians to the poison of fentanyl.”

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 50 to 100 times stronger than heroin and morphine with almost all of the fentanyl in the US originating in China.  

In 2022, the Pennsylvania State Police reported that over 4,700 Pennsylvanians passed away due to fentanyl overdoses, and rural communities are more likely to be impacted by the fentanyl epidemic than urban communities. 

Casey has been touring the commonwealth raising awareness of McCormick’s fentanyl investments over the past week. 

He started the third leg of his “On Our Side” road trip on Monday by sitting down with a Harrisburg area mother who lost her daughter to a fentanyl overdose in 2015.

On Thursday, local leaders in Pittsburgh held a press conference highlighting the fentanyl epidemic. 

“I’m grateful to know that Bob Casey is working to support Pennsylvanians that are struggling with the disease of addiction as well as their families,” Peggy Heidish, who lost her son to a fentanyl overdose, said in a statement. 

“We need people like Bob Casey in the Senate. He has listened to the Pennsylvania families that have faced these struggles, and he’ll continue his advocacy for victims of fentanyl poisoning and their families. His work to keep fentanyl out of our communities will save lives.”

Correction: A previous version stated that Sen. Bob Casey was in Pittsburgh for Thursday’s press conference. However, he was not in attendance for it.