Pennsylvania Democrat Bob Casey lands his finest fundraising quarter in his Senate reelection marketing campaign

By MARC LEVY Related Press

Democratic Sen. Bob Casey raised greater than $4 million within the final three months — his finest fundraising quarter ever — as he awaits a Republican challenger to his reelection bid within the essential battleground state of Pennsylvania, his marketing campaign mentioned Wednesday.

Casey’s marketing campaign mentioned the fundraising end result beat the earlier finest quarter of his profession by greater than $1.2 million.

The marketing campaign is reporting practically $6 million in its checking account. That money might show essential in guaranteeing Casey has the assets to efficiently navigate a marketing campaign in one of many nation’s most politically aggressive states.

The second-quarter haul is giving Casey’s marketing campaign some optimism that Democrats nonetheless get pleasure from help within the state following John Fetterman’s 5-percentage-point victory in final yr’s race for Pennsylvania’s open Senate seat.

Casey, 63, is gearing as much as search his fourth time period in workplace. He’s a key ally of labor unions and President Joe Biden and provides Democrats a powerful candidate of their protection of a seat in what’s in any other case anticipated to be a troublesome 2024 marketing campaign to maintain their 51-49 Senate majority.

Fetterman, who was Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor, additionally reported elevating $4 million in his first quarter as a Senate candidate in 2021. Fetterman eclipsed that with a $22.4 million third quarter in 2022 on his option to beating Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz, who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump. Final yr’s Senate race was Pennsylvania’s costliest ever, at $420 million complete, in keeping with OpenSecrets, a Washington-based nonprofit group that tracks marketing campaign finance and lobbying information.

Casey comes into the 2024 race with robust identify recognition — his father was a two-term Pennsylvania governor — and Republicans should not have a deep pool of potential recruits.

One Republican who could run is former hedge fund CEO David McCormick, who narrowly misplaced a bruising and costly GOP nomination for the Senate in 2022 to Oz.

McCormick has mentioned he’s “severely contemplating” operating. He brings deep pockets and connections throughout the worlds of presidency, finance and Republican politics following a profession on Wall Road and on the highest ranges of President George W. Bush’s administration.

However many Republicans acknowledge that it is going to be troublesome — or not possible — to beat Casey.

In Pennsylvania, Casey has run statewide seven occasions already, profitable six of these races, and has by no means run a detailed race for the Senate. He gained his 2018 race by 13 proportion factors and saved an lively schedule on the marketing campaign path final yr by serving to Fetterman.