Presidential race receives 71,000 more votes than Senate race in PA; recount underway

HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHP) — All 67 counties in Pennsylvania were required to start recounting votes in the race for U.S. Senate on Wednesday. However, the recount is shining a light on thousands of Pennsylvania voters who voted for President but not for U.S. Senate.

Dave McCormick and incumbent Senator Bob Casey were separated by approximately 17,000 votes, but according to the PA Department of State unofficial results more than 71,000 voters didn't vote beyond the presidential race.

The Associated Press called the race for the Republican McCormick, but the Senate recount was automatically triggered by state law because the candidates are separated by less than 0.5%.

The McCormick campaign has been calling for Sen. Casey to concede.

While it is Senator Casey’s prerogative to seek a recount, it is a waste of time and taxpayer money.

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The Casey campaign says the recount is about making sure everyone's voice is heard.

While the McCormick campaign sues to silence Pennsylvanians, the Casey campaign is actively fighting to make sure every legal ballot is counted.

CBS 21 spoke to election officials in multiple Central PA counties on Wednesday. Officials in Cumberland and Dauphin Counties said they started the recounts on Wednesday.

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In Cumberland County, 17 employees were sworn in to recount more than 149,000 ballots from election day, mail-in ballots, and provisional ballots.

"The process is a little bit different since it’s all being counted at once, but we county officials and election officials who have gone through this process before we had to do this in 2022 so we’re well versed on what to do and how to do," said Samantha Krepps, Cumberland County Communications Director.

In Lancaster County, officials there say they completed the recount on Wednesday. “It went smoothly we had to process roughly 290,000 ballots in the election, we’re only expecting a few votes here and there quite frankly to maybe change,” said Commissioner Ray D'Agostino.

According to the state law the recount had to be done with different machines from what counties originally used. It must also be completed by Tuesday November 26.

The McCormick campaign released a statement Thursday saying the recount is now complete in eight counties.

With a total of eight counties having completed their recount and about 144,000 votes cast, the vote shifted by single digits for the second day in a row. Senator-elect McCormick’s lead is too big for this charade to make any difference, but Senator Casey is forcing Pennsylvanians to spend more taxpayer money on a recount anyway.