'Count every vote': Casey still declining to concede Pa.'s US Senate race to McCormick

GOP businessman Dave McCormick slightly widened his lead over Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey in the vote count this past weekend, but the 18-year incumbent Democrat and his allies remained steadfast in insisting the election outcome isn't clear.

The Associated Press last week declared McCormick the winner of the pivotal race, and the Republican has already made celebratory appearances on Fox News and delivered a victory speech to supporters. Still, Casey and other Democrats aren’t ready to give up, arguing that too many provisional and overseas and absentee ballots remain outstanding at this point.

More: McCormick continues victory lap in Pa.'s US Senate race, while Casey refuses to concede

“I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it now. It's a beautiful day to count every vote,” Casey posted on X Saturday.

However, McCormick gained a bit of ground Saturday and Sunday and was leading Casey by about 40,000 votes by Monday morning. That puts him about 0.58 percentage points ahead of the incumbent and above the 0.5-point threshold for triggering an automatic statewide recount.

The Pennsylvania Secretary of State estimated Thursday that about 100,000 ballots then remained uncounted, and Casey's campaign says many of them are from blue-leaning parts of the commonwealth. The New York Times, CNN and NBC still haven’t called the race in McCormick’s favor, they note.

The Democrat's team also points to complaints that McCormick filed last week over provisional ballot canvassing in Philadelphia as evidence the GOP challenger himself recognizes the election fight isn’t over.

Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer still hasn’t extended a Senate orientation invitation to McCormick, believing the election results aren’t yet certain, according to Politico. The decision was condemned by GOP politicians, who are turning up the pressure on Democrats to accept McCormick as Pennsylvania’s next senator.

“What happened to all the demands that our leaders accept the outcome of the elections?” Sen. Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican, wrote on X.

Bethany Rodgers is a USA TODAY Network Pennsylvania capital bureau investigative journalist.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: McCormick slightly widens lead over Casey in Pa's US Senate race count