Casey’s 2024 decision gives Senate Democrats much needed boost
Emily Jacobs
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Sen. Bob Casey’s (D-PA) decision to seek a fourth term in 2024 gives Senate Democrats another battleground state incumbent to rely on as they defend their slim majority.
The contest for Casey’s seat is expected to be one of the most competitive of the 2024 cycle and is a must-win race in order for Democrats to keep control of the chamber in the next Congress. Casey, the son of former Gov. Bob Casey Sr. (D-PA) and the longest-serving Democratic senator in Pennsylvania history, enters his latest race as the slight favorite, with his candidacy being boosted by the power of incumbency and strong name recognition.
BOB CASEY ANNOUNCES REELECTION BID IN BOOST TO DEMOCRATS’ 2024 PLANS
The Pennsylvania senator has long cast himself as a centrist Democrat, though Republicans are certain to attack his support for most of President Joe Biden’s legislative agenda.
In his capacity as chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the party’s Senate campaign arm, Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) has been on the hunt for candidates to challenge Democrats, such as Casey, who are up for reelection next year. In Pennsylvania, he has reportedly encouraged David McCormick, who ran in the 2022 GOP Senate primary for the vacant seat eventually won by Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), to run again in 2024.
Daines has also been walking a political tightrope — supporting candidates with general election appeal while trying to avoid alienating loyal supporters of former President Donald Trump. The approach marks a shift in strategy from Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), Daines’s predecessor as NRSC chief, who faced criticism for Republicans’ lackluster showing in the 2022 midterm elections and had a rocky working relationship with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).
Republicans only need to net two seats to win back the Senate in 2024.
McCormick, the former Bridgewater chief executive, narrowly lost the 2022 primary to Republican celebrity physician Dr. Mehmet Oz, who advanced to the general election as a bruised candidate. He has not decided whether to throw his hat in the ring for the 2024 contest, though he is not the only GOP name mulling a run. State Sen. Doug Mastriano, Pennsylvania’s 2022 GOP gubernatorial nominee who lost that contest by nearly 15%, has also considered entering the race.
Daines has rejected the idea of Mastriano as the 2024 Senate nominee, recognizing that Casey will be a formidable candidate even if the election cycle turns into a difficult one for Democrats. He said of Mastriano last month: “We need somebody who can win a primary and a general election. His last race demonstrated he can’t win a general.”
In addition to Pennsylvania, incumbent Democrats are playing defense in red, blue, and purple states.
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Daines is working on ousting his same-state colleague Sen. Jon Tester, a centrist Democrat from deep red Montana who faces a tough reelection fight, and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), who left the Democratic Party late last year and is campaigning as an independent against candidates from both parties. He is also searching for challengers for Sens. Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Tim Kaine (D-VA), and others.
Manchin, a centrist Democrat representing the heavily Republican state of West Virginia, is withholding his decision on running for reelection until Daines and McConnell’s top GOP recruit decides about challenging him. The two men have spent months trying to persuade Gov. Jim Justice (R-WV), a Democrat-turned-Republican who significantly outperforms Manchin in polls, to enter the race.