Samantha-Jo Roth writes for the Washington Examiner about one potential impact of President Biden’s poor polling numbers.
Democratic Senate candidates in critical swing states are running well ahead of President Joe Biden and lead their Republican rivals, but Pennsylvania Senate Republican candidate Dave McCormick believes he’s got a plan to ensure the commonwealth turns red for both himself and former President Donald Trump.
“Bob Casey has been the status quo; he’s voted with Biden 98% of the time,” McCormick said, speaking to the Washington Examiner in an interview. “I’ve made huge progress on people getting to know me and that is being reflected in the polls.”
McCormick’s strategy: tie incumbent Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) to Biden as much as possible, capitalizing on the president’s sinking job approval ratings in the Keystone State over inflation and the border crisis.
The wealthy finance executive and veteran is working to erase Casey’s advantage as a three-term senator whose father was a governor of Pennsylvania. Casey regularly outpolls Biden in the state, where Democrats have enjoyed victory since Trump’s stunning upset over Hillary Clinton in 2016.
“[Casey] has not had any major legislative accomplishments, and people are deeply worried about the future of the country,” McCormick explained. “I think that lays the groundwork for an outsider who has had my background of experience in the military, in business, and so forth.”
McCormick trails his Democratic incumbent challenger in averages of recent polling. In fact, a recent battleground state Siena College poll released last week found Democratic Senate candidates in Pennsylvania, Arizona, Nevada, and Wisconsin are leading their Republican opponents and are running ahead of Biden in critical states that could determine the outcome of the 2024 election.
The results found Casey has the support of 46% of voters, compared to McCormick’s 41%. However, former Trump holds a slim advantage in a head-to-head race with Biden, 47% to 44%.
