Senator Bob Casey’s re-election campaign and the campaign arm of Senate Democrats have so far spent the most in a race that could determine control of the closely divided chamber.
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David McCormick, a former hedge fund executive, is making his second bid for a Pennsylvania Senate seat in as many years
The main super PAC supporting David McCormick, the Republican running for Senate in Pennsylvania, is reserving $30 million worth of television ads in the state, a major escalation in the campaign to unseat Senator Bob Casey, the Democratic incumbent.
The new reservation from the super PAC, known as Keystone Renewal, comes on top of the $82 million that both sides have already spent on, or reserved in, campaign ads in the state, according to AdImpact, which tracks advertising purchases.
So far, the group has spent about $3.6 million on mostly positive ads about Mr. McCormick. But the super PAC plans to pivot to more negative spots aimed at Mr. Casey once the new ad buy begins, according to a person briefed on the group’s plans.
Kaelan Dorr, a spokesman for the super PAC, took aim at Mr. Casey as a supporter of President Biden’s “left-wing agenda,” suggesting that assertion might be a line of attack in the new ads.
“Keystone Renewal is all in to elect David McCormick to the U.S. Senate,” Mr. Dorr said.
According to the most recently available campaign finance reports, the super PAC had raised more than $21 million as of April 3, much of it from Wall Street executives and investors.
The largest contributions to the super PAC have been $10 million from Ken Griffin, the chief executive of Citadel; $2 million from Paul Singer, the president of Elliott Management; and $1 million from Jeff Yass, a founder of Susquehanna International Group.
So far, Mr. Casey’s campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, the main campaign arm of Senate Democrats, have spent the most on ads in the race. The committee has spent about $9 million on broadcast, cable and digital ads, while Mr. Casey’s campaign has spent $8.5 million.
“David McCormick’s billionaire backers are pouring money into Pennsylvania to try to distract from his record of investing in Chinese military companies, supporting a dangerous abortion ban and lying about where he lives,” Maddy McDaniel, a spokeswoman for Mr. Casey’s campaign, said. “Pennsylvanians already know that McCormick can’t be trusted.”
The Pennsylvania race is one of only a handful this year expected to determine control of the closely divided Senate. Mr. McCormick, a former hedge fund executive, is making his second bid for a Pennsylvania Senate seat in as many years. Mr. Casey, the son of a former two-term governor of the state, is seeking re-election to his fourth six-year term.
Last month, Mr. Casey proposed a series of three debates to be held in Harrisburg, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. “Glad to hear it,” Mr. McCormick responded in a social media post. “See you there.”
A New York Times/Siena College poll this month showed Mr. Casey leading Mr. McCormick among registered voters, 46 percent to 41 percent.
Michael C. Bender is a Times political correspondent covering Donald J. Trump, the Make America Great Again movement and other federal and state elections. More about Michael C. Bender
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Source: nytimes.com
