Pennsylvania Republican Senate candidate Dave McCormick blew out Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) in fundraising in his first quarter as a candidate, while a super PAC supporting McCormick hauled in almost $18 million since its launch five months ago, marking a solid start to his campaign.
McCormick’s campaign hauled in $6.4 million in the fourth quarter, senior strategist Mark Harris said on a press call Thursday, shattering expectations.
“The bottom line up front is for Dave McCormick and Republicans, it went as well as it could have gone – far better than we could have anticipated,” he said. “We crushed every goal that we had internally, and I think it shows a big opportunity here in Pennsylvania for Republicans to pick up this Senate seat and defeat Bob Casey.”
The haul included $5.4 million from 15,000 donors – Republicans, Democrats, and independents – across all 67 Pennsylvania counties. McCormick, a businessman, placed $1 million of his own funds into the war chest, the Penn Capitol-Star reports.
“It was a historic haul; it was the largest haul of its type, and it really underscores the excitement that exists around Dave’s candidacy,” Harris noted.
Conversely, Casey’s campaign hauled in $3.6 million in the fourth quarter – just over half of what McCormick did, according to the Penn Capitol-Star.
“I want to underscore how big of a deal it is to beat a Democrat; it is very rare for a Republican candidate for office, even incumbents,” Harris emphasized of fundraising in Pennsylvania. He added that “Money is not everything in politics, but certainly, it is an initial indicator; the fact that we were able to massively out-raise Bob Casey is quite a big development for this race.”
What is more, the pro-McCormick Keystone Renewal PAC announced on Wednesday in an emailed release that from August 31 to December 31, it hauled in close to $18 million.
The release from the PAC noted, “This is the most ever raised by a super PAC supporting a U.S. Senate candidate during an off year in an election cycle.”
Brittany Yanick, a spokeswoman for the Keystone Renewal PAC, noted the large sum “shows that there is not only real excitement and momentum for McCormick’s candidacy, but also the fact that Pennsylvania is a state that McCormick will win in November.”
“Moreover, our fundraising efforts are further proof that Pennsylvanians are ready to elect a battle-tested leader like Dave McCormick who will work to defeat Bob Casey and the Democrats’ radical agenda in Washington,” she added.
During Thursday’s press call, Breitbart News asked Harris, who noted the campaign had seen the PAC’s fundraising announcement, how beneficial it is to have such large numbers so early, especially with great party unity behind McCormick and no serious primary opponent, meaning these funds could be stowed for the general election.
“I think, look, filing is not open or closed yet, so we take nothing for granted and David hustling every day, but certainly the immense unity that the party has shown from the historic state party endorsements, all the individual endorsements we’ve rolled out, are very encouraging to me, and to us, and really having that money as a one on one versus Casey is a big advantage,” he said. “I mean, historically, not having a significant primary – [former Sen Pat Toomey (R-PA)] did not have a significant primary in either of his races – has been an important piece of the puzzle, and so it is a big advantage for us, and we’re encouraged. I mean, I think it’s a sign of the strength that Dave has shown as a candidate, his ability to pull together all the wings of the Republican Party in order to be in this position that he’s in right now.”
The impressive fundraising announcements come days after McCormick joined Sirius XM’s Breitbart News Saturday, where he discussed his visit to Israel last week, telling host and Breitbart News Washington Bureau Chief Matthew Boyle that Israelis are concerned about Democrats’ “moral ambiguity.”
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