PITTSBURGH — Though Election Day is past, swing-state advertising isn’t.
A new ad hit Pennsylvania airwaves Tuesday calling on three-term Democratic Sen. Bob Casey to concede the race the Associated Press called last week for Republican Sen.-elect Dave McCormick.
“Casey and the Democrats are sore losers. And they’re disrespecting our democracy,” says the female narrator in the 30-second ad from the Fair Election Fund, a nonprofit born in May to pay and protect whistleblowers who report voter fraud and election irregularities.
The ad blasts Casey’s “hypocritical refusal to concede the election,” FEF exclusively told The Post, as he continues to fundraise and insists every vote be counted, increasing the odds of an automatic recount that could cost Pennsylvania taxpayers $2 million and is unlikely to change the race’s outcome given McCormick leads him by nearly 35,000 votes.
“Bob Casey had a lot to say about conceding,” the ad begins before using Casey’s words against him: The Pennsylvania Democrat called on President-elect Donald Trump to concede the 2020 election and respect “the peaceful transfer of power.”
“But now that he’s lost, he’s changing his tune,” the ad’s narrator says.
“They’re denying the results and trying to force an unnecessary recount using your tax dollars.”
“Tell Bob Casey: It’s time to concede,” the ad finishes, listing the phone number of Casey’s Senate office in Washington.
FEF said it’s dropped hundreds of thousands of dollars on the new TV ad in the Scranton, Philadelphia and Harrisburg media markets and is sharing it across digital platforms in the area surrounding Casey’s DC office.
McCormick grinned at Senate orientation Tuesday at the last-minute invitation of Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who initially denied McCormick his spot citing uncounted ballots — the latest sign the race is over, which leads some to ask why Casey hasn’t thrown in the towel.
Pennsylvania Republican strategist Jeff Bartos speculated in a New York Post op-ed that “his refusal to concede may be helping the senator and the” Democratic National Committee “raise funds to pay bills and/or extinguish campaign debt.”
