By Bo Erickson
(Reuters) -Republican Dave McCormick (NYSE:MKC) won the U.S. Senate election in Pennsylvania, Decision Desk HQ projected on Thursday, beating Democratic incumbent Bob Casey in an important win for Republicans hoping to capture a majority in the chamber.
Pennsylvania will conduct a legally required statewide recount of the ballots because McCormick's lead is within one-half of 1 percent of the total votes, Commonwealth Secretary Al Schmidt said on Wednesday.
McCormick has 3,380,310 votes, or 48.93%, and Casey has 3,350,972, or 48.50%, Schmidt said.
The Associated Press called the race for McCormick a week ago.
A U.S. Army combat veteran, McCormick, 59, campaigned on his previous stints in national security roles during Republican former President George W. Bush's administration, as well as his years running Bridgewater Associates, one of the world's top hedge funds.
Using some of his own wealth to campaign, McCormick embraced Pennsylvania’s electoral competitiveness and leaned into economic and foreign policy issues, effectively tying Casey to Democratic leaders including President Joe Biden, who McCormick blamed for inflated household costs and what he said was weakness against foreign adversaries.
This was McCormick’s second time running for the U.S. Senate after losing the Republican primary in the 2022 midterm elections.