PITTSBURGH — The most effective part of Sen. Dave McCormick‘s (R-PA) aspirational ad inviting New Yorkers to move to Pennsylvania is a playful dig at the New York Jets, showing the team’s fans at MetLife Stadium, jerseys on and paper bags over their heads, enduring yet another miserable season.
“Forget about the high taxes, the socialists, the losing football teams. If you’re looking for a change of scenery, all you have to do is head west on I-80. The Keystone State is calling. Come on down,” McCormick says in the ad.
In short, if you’re a New Yorker worried about the economic fallout of Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s socialist policies, including government-run grocery stores, rent control, and free public transit, McCormick is offering the Keystone State as a freedom-loving alternative.
The ad begins with a New York Post headline reporting Mamdani’s victory last week, with a voice-over from a narrator saying, “Democratic Socialist, Zoran Mamdani will be elected the next mayor of New York.”
The video then cuts to McCormick standing before a large map of Pennsylvania, as scenes flash across the screen showing the state’s diverse landscape: from a river town tucked in the Appalachian Mountains to roaring Eagles and Steelers games in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh to the towering Cathedral of Learning in his hometown.
“Are you worried about your future in New York? Because I have just the place for you, Pennsylvania, where America was born. We’ve got mountains, winning football teams, world-class universities, and no one is gonna make you feel unwelcome for loving America, loving freedom, and loving your God,” McCormick says.
The reference to religious freedom is a not-so-subtle jab at the growing unease surrounding Mamdani’s rise to power, not only among business leaders and working-class residents, but also within New York City’s Jewish community, the largest in the nation, where many now feel unsettled in what was once their cherished home.
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“We’re rebuilding steel, innovating life sciences, leading the AI revolution, and creating tens of thousands of jobs in shipbuilding, energy, and AI infrastructure,” McCormick continues alongside photos of US Steel plants, universities, and the docks of Philadelphia.
McCormick’s new role as a champion for economic growth and attracting businesses and residents to Pennsylvania isn’t just a political statement contrasting capitalism with socialism; it was crafted to be aspirational. That is, of course, unless you’re a Jets fan.