Pennsylvania's 2024 Senate Race: Bob Casey Jr. vs. David McCormick
We endorse Bob Casey Jr. to continue to serve as Pennsylvania’s Senator. His record demonstrates to us that he is a pro-refugee champion that we trust to continue to advance pro-refugee policies and priorities in the years ahead. We recommend all voters in Pennsylvania who care about protecting refugees vote for Bob Casey Jr.
Bob Casey Jr : A Pro-Refugee Champion
Senator Bob Casey has been serving as Pennsylvania’s Senator since 2007 and is seeking re-election. As a Senator, Casey has been a proactive champion of pro-refugee legislation. In 2015, amid calls to pause resettlement, Casey called for ongoing support for Syrian refugees. During Trump’s first term, he rejected Trump’s executive order to restrict resettlement. Casey co-sponsored the Refugee Protection Act of 2019 and he joined Dear Colleagues letters in both 2023 and 2024 in support of robust funding for refugee protection and resettlement. In 2020, Senator Casey scored a 10/20 on Voice for Refuge Action Fund’s scorecards of the 116th Congress. In 2022, following the withdrawal from Afghanistan, Senator Casey led and joined resolutions and oversight letters to expedite Afghan resettlement and humanitarian parole. Voice for Refuge ranked him a Champion of Relocation & Resettlement of Afghans, he earned a score of 11.73/20 in our scorecards of the 117th Congress.
Bob Casey Jr.’s opponent is David McCormick. He is an American businessman and politician who served as the CEO of Bridgewater Associates, one of the world’s largest hedge funds, from 2020 to 2022. McCormick is the husband to the former Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategy under Donald Trump. In his campaign, McCormick has repeated lies about Haitian immigration and immigrants causing crimes in Pennsylvania to help his own campaign. He has gone after cities that are trying to be welcoming towards their immigrant and refugee neighbors. Since 2022, when McCormick first ran for Senate losing in the Republican Primary, he has aligned himself closer to Trump, mirroring rhetoric about refugees and immigrants being used at the national level.
Record on: | Bob Casey | David McCormick |
Refugee Resettlement | Pro-Refugee Champion Supported resettlement of Syrian refugees in 2015 amid calls to pause resettlement and rejected Trump’s executive order to restrict refugees. Co-sponsored the Refugee Protection Act of 2019. Joined the FY 2024 and FY 2025 Refugee Assistance Dear Colleague letter supporting robust funding for refugee protection, resettlement, and related spending accounts. | Unreliable on refugee protections Released a campaign ad against resettling refugees of certain nationalities and backgrounds. |
Afghan response and resettlement | Pro-Refugee Champion Led and joined resolutions and oversight letters to expedite Afghan resettlement and humanitarian parole. | Unclear Has failed to mention ongoing need to protect Afghan allies at risk in his comments on the Afghan withdrawal. Itt is worth noting that McCormick was not in elected office during this time. |
Speaking about refugees, immigrants, and asylees in the US | Pro-Refugee Champion His campaign platform clearly states “Fundamentally, Senator Casey believes the United States – a Nation of immigrants and a Nation of laws – must foster a system that treats all individuals with compassion and dignity”. | Anti-Refugee Extremist Has repeated lies about immigration and immigrants causing crimes in Pennsylvania to help his own campaign. |
Result: | Pro-Refugee Champion | Unreliable and Anti-Refugee |
Sources:
- www.casey.senate.gov/news/releases/casey-statement-on-admission-of-syrian-refugees
- www.casey.senate.gov/news/releases/casey-statement-on-president-trumps-executive-order-on-refugees
- https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/2936/cosponsors
- voiceforrefuge.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Voice-for-Refuge-Senate-Scorecard-SHORT.pdf
- www.casey.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/sen_caseys_letter_on_us.troopsecurityinafghanistan.pdf
- https://voiceforrefuge.org/scorecards-2/
- www.politifact.com/factchecks/2024/sep/19/dave-mccormick/dave-mccormick-exaggerates-charleroi-pa-population/
- www.pennlive.com/news/2024/02/mccormick-gop-state-senators-call-for-lancaster-city-council-to-rescind-immigration-status-ordinance.html
- www.politico.com/news/2022/01/11/david-mccormick-senate-campaign-trump-526870
- twitter.com/DaveMcCormickPA
Unless stated below: this is an independent expenditure prepared and paid for by Voice for Refuge Action Fund, P.O. Box 1933, 28606 Phillips Street, Elkhart, IN 46515, Erol Kekic, Executive Director, and no candidate authorized this ad – it is not coordinated with, authorized by, or approved by any candidate or candidate’s committee, nor is any candidate responsible for it.
