Former President Donald Trump has endorsed Republican Senate candidate Dave McCormick in Pennsylvania, after endorsing another candidate during McCormick’s first Senate run two years ago.
President Trump tweeted: “Tonight, I am officially endorsing David McCormick. He’s a good man. He wants to run a good ship. He’s a smart man, a very successful man. He’s done a lot for that. I’ve given up on that,” he declared. On Saturday, he spoke at a large rally in Schnecksville, Pennsylvania.
Mr. McCormick, a former hedge fund executive, West Point graduate, Gulf War veteran and Treasury official in the administration of former President George W. Bush, announced his second Senate bid last year. He is running unopposed in the April 23 primary in the key battleground state and will face longtime Democratic Sen. Bob Casey Jr. in November.
“I’m telling you, he’s the Republican nominee, David McCormick. Casey won’t do anything terrible, so go out and vote for him,” Trump stressed.
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Mr. Casey, the son of a popular former governor, served as Pennsylvania’s comptroller general for 10 years and then as treasurer until he was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2006.
Pennsylvania’s Senate race is one of the few races in the nation likely to determine whether Republicans regain a majority in Congress.
Democrats currently hold a 51-49 majority in the U.S. Senate, but Republicans view this year’s Senate as favorable, with Democrats holding 23 of the 34 seats at stake.
Three of those seats are in the red states of Ohio, Montana and West Virginia, which President Trump won when he lost to President Biden in the 2020 election, but Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin is up for re-election. He is not a candidate. And Pennsylvania is one of five major general election battleground states where Democrats are defending seats. Democrats may also have to worry about filling an open Senate seat in Blue Maryland, where former Republican Gov. Larry Hogan is running.
Trump, Biden make duel trip to key battleground state
Mr. McCormick was not at Saturday’s rally. His campaign told Fox News that long before President Trump recently announced a rally in Schnecksville, located in the Lehigh Valley in the northeastern battleground state, the candidate had prior family commitments. He said it was planned.
After the rally, McCormick expressed gratitude to President Trump for his support. Social media posts.
“Thank you, President Trump,” he said. “Together, we will deliver big wins for Pennsylvania and America in November.”
McCormick was part of a tight race for the 2022 Republican nomination. In the end, he narrowly lost to Mehmet Oz, a well-known doctor and heart surgeon, and secured victory in the primary thanks to Trump’s late endorsement.Oz ended up losing the general election to the Democratic Party. John Fetterman.
“I don’t know David very well, and he may be a nice guy, but he’s not MAGA,” Trump said of McCormick at the time, addressing legions of “Make America Great Again” supporters and supporters. Mentioned.
This time around, McCormick doesn’t face much opposition in the Republican primary. He has the support of longtime Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and the Pennsylvania Republican Party, and has been encouraged to run by the party’s Senate campaign arm, the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
McCormick announced early last month that former President Trump had won big on Super Tuesday nationwide, and Nikki Haley, Trump’s last rival for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, withdrew from the White House race. Supported Trump.
This is President Trump’s third visit to Pennsylvania this year. He stopped by Harrisburg on February 9th to address NRA members gathered for the organization’s Great American Outdoor Show. A few days later, he made an unusual stop at Philadelphia’s Sneaker Con trade show to promote new Trump-branded sneakers.
Pennsylvania is one of six battleground states where Mr. Biden narrowly defeated Mr. Trump and won the White House in the presidential election four years ago.
Most of the latest Pennsylvania polls suggest a close race between Biden and Trump for the state’s 19 electoral votes.
The president will return to his home state on Tuesday for a three-day event in Pennsylvania. Mr. Biden’s political advisers say he aims to contrast himself with Mr. Trump on economic issues while highlighting his plans to raise taxes on America’s wealthy and big corporations. .
Biden will begin his three-day swing with a speech in Scranton, where he spent part of his childhood. The president has returned repeatedly to the working-class city of northeastern Pennsylvania as he makes a populist pitch to Americans.
The president is scheduled to head to Pittsburgh on Wednesday, followed by a campaign event in Philadelphia on Thursday. Biden’s whirlwind victory in Pennsylvania comes as President Trump makes history as the first sitting or former president to go on trial in U.S. history.
Trump’s hush money trial begins Monday in a New York City courtroom.
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The former president, who is on trial on 34 state felonies, falsified business records in connection with the hush money he paid to Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about his alleged affair with the adult film actress during the 2016 election. accused of suspicion.
President Trump has repeatedly denied not only allegations of sexual contact with Daniels but also falsification of business records.
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