Democrat Bob Casey is the three-term senator from Pennsylvania, but according to a portrayal shown during Monday’s Inside Politics on CNN, one would think Casey was the underdog facing off against the entrenched politician with all the money in the world. The network’s chief congressional correspondent, Manu Raju sounded the alarm, warning that if Casey lost the tight race, Democrats would lose their narrow 50/50 majority with VP Kamala Harris as the tie breaker.
“Pennsylvania holds the key to the White House, but that isn't the only crucial race playing out in the commonwealth this election cycle,” announced host Dana Bash at the top of the segment. “Incumbent Democrat Bob Casey is fighting to hold onto his Senate seat, and the narrowly divided chamber facing are formidable challenge from Republican Dave McCormick.”
Raju’s nearly five-minute long report began with a lament that Casey was “about to get swamped by a GOP bombardment on the airwaves.” He followed up with a warning that framed Casey as the underdog because Republicans were about to unleash that massive ad buy that was going to greatly outspend Democratic efforts:
McCormick and his allies are preparing to spend more than $100 million on air in just the final two months of the campaign, more than half from an outside group designed solely to help the Republican. All giving Republicans a roughly 40 million on air advantage over Democrats, an edge bigger than any other Senate race.
He went on to bemoan how “a new CNN/SSRS poll finds the Casey/McCormick race at a 46, 46 tie,” and didn’t seem to like the fact that, “since 2016, the GOP has cut into Democrat’s voter registration advantage in the state.”
“With the West Virginia seat almost certain to turn red, Democrats must hang on to Pennsylvania and seven other seats simply to keep the Senate at 50/50,” he cautioned viewers.
Perhaps to help fill in that spending gap, Raju unloaded a string of attacks on McCormick that seemed handed to him by the Casey campaign. First up, was a highly-edited interview between Raju and McCormick that aimed to make McCormick unpalatable as a MAGA extremist (Click “expand”):
RAJU (to McCormick): Trump had said that he won Pennsylvania in 2020, that it was stolen from him. Do you agree with them?
[Transition]
MCCORMICK: I don't believe the election was stolen. So, Present Trump and I don't agree on everything, but we agree on a lot of things.
[Transition]
RAJU: Do you consider yourself a MAGA Republican?
[Transition]
MCCORMICK: You know, I consider myself a Dave McCormick Republican. My positions are very much in line with what President Trump has said on policies. [Transition] I'm a guy that's put America first his whole life.
“After serving in the military, and then working in the Bush administration, McCormick ran a major hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates. Now fodder for Democratic attack ads like this,” Raju immediately followed up, playing a Casey attack ad that took McCormick’s hedge fund work out of context: “Dave McCormick, got rich. Really rich. By investing in China. China. China.”
Raju then played another snippet of the interview seemingly to show McCormick on the defensive (Click “expand”):
MCCORMICK: When you're the one of the biggest global investors in the world, three percent of its holdings were in China.
RAJU (to McCormick): That's a lot of money, though.
MCCORMICK: That's what we're talking about. There's no global firm in the world that doesn't have exposure to China.
As if to suggest Casey’s criticism of his opponent were more substantial, Raju noted that “the Republican turning his attention to Casey's ties to Harris.” This was supported with clips of Raju lightly asking Casey about aligning himself with the Biden/Harris administration.
Keeping the pressure heavily on McCormick, Raju pivoted to their abortion positions. “McCormick's positions in 2022 are inviting fresh scrutiny, including comments at a debate when he did not mention his support of abortion exceptions for rape or incest,” he suggested, playing an out-of-context clip of McCormick at a GOP primary debate.
Despite playing poorly-aged audio of Casey saying he only supported the life-of-the-mother exception for abortion, Raju ended the video portion of the segment with a clip of Casey defending his new position against a soft-ball question he pitched:
RAJU (to Casey): But do you still consider yourself pro-life?
CASEY: I don’t those terms mean much anymore. I really think the choice now before the American people is, if you support a ban, which means you support the overturning of Roe and all that comes with it, or you support this right. And I do.
“Such a good report! I learned so much about what's going on in that race,” Bash proclaimed as the segment wrapped up.
The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read:
CNN’s Inside Politics
September 9, 2024
12:49:19 p.m. EasternDANA BASH: Pennsylvania holds the key to the White House, but that isn't the only crucial race playing out in the commonwealth this election cycle. Incumbent Democrat Bob Casey is fighting to hold onto his Senate seat, and the narrowly divided chamber facing are formidable challenge from Republican Dave McCormick. CNN's Manu Raju, was there.
[Cuts to video]
SEN. BOB CASEY (D-PA): Hello, Pittsburgh!
MANU RAJU (voice over): Senator Bob Casey is sounding the alarm.
CASEY: I need your help in this race.
RAJU: As a three-term Democrat campaigns with Vice President Kamala Harris, Casey is locked in a dead heat against Republican David McCormick and about to get swamped by a GOP bombardment on the airwaves.
MCCORMICK CAMPAIGN AD 1: If the border was secure, chances are my son would be alive today.
MCCORMICK CAMPAIGN AD 2: Harris and Casey, dangerous radicals.
RAJU: McCormick and his allies are preparing to spend more than $100 million on air in just the final two months of the campaign, more than half from an outside group designed solely to help the Republican. All giving Republicans a roughly 40 million on air advantage over Democrats, an edge bigger than any other Senate race.
CASEY: I think I'm the underdog! I don't have a personal super PAC funded by Wall Street billionaires. [Transition] I don’t care what they spend. I’m going to win this race. But it's going to be a really difficult race.
RAJU: With the West Virginia seat almost certain to turn red, Democrats must hang on to Pennsylvania and seven other seats simply to keep the Senate at 50/50.
VP KAMALA HARRIS: Bob Kasey will help us do that!
RAJU: But a new CNN/SSRS poll finds the Casey/McCormick race at a 46, 46 tie. And since 2016, the GOP has cut into Democrat’s voter registration advantage in the state.
DAVE MCCORMICK: So, I’m the underdog. There's no doubt about that. But the reason the race is closing is that Senator Casey is just out of touch with Pennsylvanians. He’s been a week, senator.
RAJU: As he stumped in rural Pennsylvania last week, McCormick aligned himself with Donald Trump up to a point.
[Raju’s highly-edited interview with McCormick]
RAJU (to McCormick): Trump had said that he won Pennsylvania in 2020, that it was stolen from him. Do you agree with them?
[Transition]
MCCORMICK: I don't believe the election was stolen. So, Present Trump and I don't agree on everything, but we agree on a lot of things.
[Transition]
RAJU: Do you consider yourself a MAGA Republican?
[Transition]
MCCORMICK: you know, I consider myself a Dave McCormick Republican. My positions are very much in line with what President Trump has said on policies. [Transition] I'm a guy that's put America first his whole life.
RAJU (voice over): After serving in the military, and then working in the Bush administration, McCormick ran a major hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates. Now fodder for Democratic attack ads like this.
CASEY CAMPAIGN AD 1: Dave McCormick, got rich. Really rich. By investing in China. China. China.
RAJU: McCormick defended his tenure.
MCCORMICK: When you're the one of the biggest global investors in the world, three percent of its holdings were in China.
RAJU (to McCormick): That's a lot of money, though.
MCCORMICK: That's what we're talking about. There's no global firm in the world that doesn't have exposure to China.
RAJU (voice over): As Casey attacks McCormick’s character, the Republican turning his attention to Casey's ties to Harris.
MCCORMICK: He’s voted 98 percent of time for Biden/Harris.
RAJU (to Casey): Why are you aligning herself with her?
CASEY: Well look, in this state, her campaign already has brought a real lift to the turnout dynamics.
[Transition]
RAJU: Would you consider yourself a Biden/Harris Democrat?
CASEY: Oh, I don't -- I don't put a label on it.
[Transition]
RAJU: What issues do you break from her on?
CASEY: Oh, there I'm not going to try to itemize issues that we might have not have total agreement on.
RAJU (voice over): In 2022, McCormick lost a Senate primary to a Trump-backed opponent, Dr. Mehmet Oz.
DONALD TRUMP: Dr. Oz is running against the liberal Wall Street Republican named David McCormick, who I've known.
RAJU: But now, McCormick has been stumping with Trump and was about to go on stage at the July rally where Trump was nearly killed.
RAJU (to McCormick): Do you ever think back to that day thing that could've been you?
MCCORMICK: Yeah. I didn't think that at the time. Then I got home that night, had talked all six of my daughters they were freaked out.
RAJU (voice over): But McCormick's positions in 2022 are inviting fresh scrutiny, including comments at a debate when he did not mention his support of abortion exceptions for rape or incest.
MCCORMICK: I believe in the very rare instances, there should be exceptions for life of the mother.
CASEY CAMPAIGN AD 2: McCormick praised the Supreme Court.
RAJU: Now turned into a series of attack ads.
RAJU (to McCormick): You only talked about life of the mother. Why did you always talk about that?
MCCORMICK: Well, I said before the debate, after the debate, over and over again that I support all three exceptions. In the debate, I didn't say I was against the other exceptions. I simply said that I was for that exemption.
[Transition]
RAJU: You wouldn't codify Roe v. Wade if you had a chance to vote for it would you?
MCCORMICK: You know, my position is very clear. I think the state should decide, voters should decide.
RAJU (voice over): Casey had previously harbored anti-abortion views, including saying this in 2002.
CASEY: My position has always been a pro-life position. [Transition] My position has always been the favoring the one exception for the life of the mother.
RAJU: Now, Casey says the Dobbs decision overturning Roe has changed the dynamic.
RAJU (to Casey): But do you still consider yourself pro-life?
CASEY: I don’t those terms mean much anymore. I really think the choice now before the American people is, if you support a ban, which means you support the overturning of Roe and all that comes with it, or you support this right. And I do.
[Cuts back to live]
RAJU: And what Bob Casey is trying to do, which is very similar to what other Senate candidates across the country, Democratic candidates in particular, make this a race about character. Try to expose flaws of their Republican candidate. We're seeing that happen in Montana and Ohio and the like.
Republicans running a very standard playbook, tying to the top of the ticket, immigration and crime and the like. The question is, who will succeed in that effort?
BASH: Such a good report! I learned so much about what's going on in that race. And we are in for a very long night or days or week, on Election Day. Thanks, Manu.
RAJU: Thanks, Dana.
BASH: Good to see you.
