Republican David McCormick announces run for US Senate in Pennsylvania
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Having lost the Republican Senate primary last year, Dave McCormick is back for a second try.
McCormick announced his candidacy at Heinz History Center Thursday night against Sen. Bob Casey, who is running for reelection next year.
"America's in decline -- economically, militarily, spiritually. You see it, you know it, you feel it. Now I'm here to tell you tonight that it doesn't have to be that way," McCormick said.
Last year, McCormick lost a hard-fought primary battle against Dr. Mehmet Oz in a multi-candidate primary in which former President Trump endorsed Oz over McCormick, calling McCormick a "liberal Wall Street Republican."
McCormick, a multi-millionaire former CEO of a hedge fund in Connecticut, now appears to have a clear field to win the Republican primary next spring to challenge Casey, a third-term Democrat.
Democrats say McCormick is not a lifelong Pennsylvanian like Casey, is weak on China because of his hedge fund dealings with China and opposes reproductive rights for women.
The McCormick campaign said nobody was available Thursday afternoon to go on camera.
While many give Casey the edge in this race, Republicans feel Dave McCormick has a good shot at an upset. KDKA-TV's Jon Delano has seen one of their polls showing Casey behind a generic Republican by two points -- of course, that's not the same as Casey versus McCormick and there's more than a year to go until the voters choose.