Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Casey and Republican challenger David McCormick disagreed in a quick debate Tuesday night over clean energy policies, gun laws and abortion rights. They accused each other of lying and shared a stage for the last time before the elections.
The 60-minute debate was their second in two weeks, as mail-in voting increases in Pennsylvania and tens of millions of dollars flow into the swing state race each week. Control of the Senate is at stake, and the race is on track to become the second-most expensive election race this year.
They continued the themes from their combative first debate: McCormick accused Casey of being a weak, do-nothing, excessive career politician, and Casey accused McCormick of being a rich, carpetbagging, ex-hedge fund CEO who got rich on the stock market. at the expense of the Americans.
“If he’s going to talk about his record versus my record, his record is as a CEO of a hedge fund that invests in China and our adversaries,” Casey said in the WPVI-TV studio in Philadelphia. ‘That’s his track record. Mine is bipartisan work in the Senate.”
McCormick responded at one point that he would not accept any “preaching” from Casey, saying that he had gone to Iraq with the Army during the Gulf War “during the first wave when it looked like there would be tens of thousands of casualties.” ‘
McCormick also accused Casey of telling “lies completely unworthy of you, your family and your service.”
Casey responded, “This isn’t a race about his services or what we did in our lives at that age. It’s about my work in the U.S. Senate and his work as CEO of a hedge fund.”
In a question about U.S. support for Israel amid a widening war in the Middle East, the candidates essentially agreed. They said the US must continue its support for Israel and that Israel – not the US – is in the best position to decide how to approach the fight against Israel. adversaries such as Iran.
On almost every other point they disagreed. On abortion, they had to explain the contradictions in their positions.
Casey – a former self-described “pro-life Democrat” – voted in favor of abortion rights under the Roe v. Wade standard after the U.S. Supreme Court reversed his landmark 1973 decision on abortion rights.
Casey said most Americans believe daughters should have no fewer rights than their mothers.
No senator “has addressed this issue more,” McCormick said.
McCormick, who supported the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to end federal protections for abortion rights, sought to moderate his opposition to abortion rights.
Now, he said, voters — not the courts — get to decide whether a state will protect the right to abortion, even if it means some women don’t have that right, and he reiterated that he would not vote for a federal ban . about abortion.
On clean energy policy, Casey said billions of dollars from President Joe Biden’s 2021 infrastructure bill will accelerate the nation’s clean energy economy and create jobs. McCormick said it makes the U.S. more dependent on Chinese technology, rather than exporting American natural gas to encourage countries to close coal-fired power plants that emit more greenhouse gases that warm the planet.
On the filibuster, which requires 60 of 100 senators to advance legislation in the Senate, McCormick said he supports it because it prevents extreme bills from passing. Casey said it prevents the passage of popular legislation, including expanding background checks on gun purchases.
“There’s so much we can do to move the country forward, but he wants to hide behind that line,” Casey said.
McCormick, meanwhile, pushed back on stricter gun regulations, saying most gun violence crimes are committed with illegal weapons and that restricting gun ownership will not solve the problem.
Casey, 64, is a former state auditor general and treasurer and is Pennsylvania’s longest-serving Democrat in the Senate. He is seeking a fourth term in what he calls his toughest re-election challenge yet.
McCormick, 59, is making his second run for Senate after narrowly losing to Dr. in the 2022 Republican primary. Mehmet Oz. He was CEO of Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund, served on former President Donald Trump’s Defense Advisory Board and held top positions under President George W. Bush.
Democrats currently hold a majority in the Senate by the narrowest of margins, but face a difficult 2024 Senate map.
