The U.S. Senate race in Pennsylvania remains too close to call a week after the election, with Republican Dave McCormick holding a slim lead over Democratic incumbent Senator Bob Casey. As of Wednesday morning, with an estimated 99% of votes counted, McCormick had 48.9% of the vote while Casey had 48.5%, a difference of just 0.4%, according to WTAE. This margin is within the half-percent threshold for an automatic recount in Pennsylvania.
While McCormick has claimed victory, Casey has yet to concede, stating that there are still more than 100,000 votes to be counted. The Pennsylvania Department of State has confirmed that the race is within the margin for an automatic recount, and the Secretary of the Commonwealth will make a final determination once all unofficial returns from the counties are received.
McCormick, a newcomer to politics, has been able to cut into Casey's support in Philadelphia and its suburbs, and build leads in the more GOP-leaning parts of Pennsylvania. Despite being an outsider, McCormick has managed to win outright in every region of the state, except for Philadelphia and its suburbs.
The Associated Press called the race for McCormick two days after the election, but Casey's campaign has criticized this decision, stating that the race cannot be called while the votes of thousands of Pennsylvanians are still being counted. As the counting continues, both candidates and their supporters are anxiously awaiting the final results.