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

(This story was updated to accurately reflect the most current information and to add a photo gallery and update a video.)

Republican Dave McCormick, the declared victor in Pennsylvania's hotly contested Senate race, filed legal challenges Thursday evening seeking to influence the way Philadelphia handles thousands of provisional ballots still to be tallied.

The emergency requests were quickly resolved; a judge dismissed one of McCormick's motions in a Friday court hearing, and his attorneys later withdrew the other, city election officials said. But the filings set off a new round of public messaging battles between the campaigns, even as McCormick attempts to put a period on the contest.

Unofficial vote totals so far have McCormick beating three-term Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Casey by less than 1 percentage point, and the incumbent’s campaign has indicated it’s still holding out hope the commonwealth’s provisional ballots could close that gap.

On Thursday, the Associated Press called the tight Senate race for McCormick, who held a victory press conference Friday in Pittsburgh. But Casey has so far declined to concede and said “we must allow the process to play out and ensure that every vote that is eligible to be counted will be counted.”

McCormick’s legal action suggested the two campaigns might be in for a fight over which votes will be included in that final total.

And Casey's representatives pointed to the filing — which says disagreements over provisional ballots could have a "potential impact on the outcome of the election" — as evidence that McCormick was prematurely crowned the winner.

McCormick didn't voice any doubt about his victory during a Friday speech to supporters but said he understands what it feels like to lose a close election, referring to his 1,000-vote loss to Mehmet Oz in the 2022 GOP Senate primary. Casey, an 18-year incumbent, "is going to have to work through this," McCormick said.

"We knew on election night we had won, because the math was clear, and there's no way for Senator Casey to win," he continued.

Lawyers for McCormick said they expect between 15,000 and 20,000 provisional ballots will be counted in the coming days in deep-blue Philadelphia.

In a late Thursday filing in the Court of Common Pleas, McCormick's attorneys requested the ability to submit “global challenges” to provisional ballots they believe are defective and should not be tallied because they're without a secrecy envelope, missing a signature or flawed in other ways. They also wanted officials to segregate ballots submitted by individuals who had previously tried to vote by mail.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court recently ruled that mail-in voters whose ballots were rejected for mistakes should be allowed to vote provisionally so they can still participate in the election. The U.S. Supreme Court left this decision in place.

But McCormick’s attorneys said the issue is “ripe for appeal to the United States Supreme Court” and asked judges to order Philadelphia officials to set these ballots aside pending further action.

In a separate lawsuit in the Court of Common Pleas, McCormick asked that the courts compel election officials to evaluate provisional ballots in the presence of at least one representative from each party.

Each political party and candidate is allowed to designate one observer apiece to watch the provisional ballot canvassing process. However, because far more Democrats than Republicans are running for elected office in Philadelphia, there is an imbalance between the two parties in the number of authorized representatives they are permitted.

As a result, without judicial intervention, McCormick's lawyers said they were worried thousands of provisional ballots will be "examined and adjudicated outside the presence" of at least one GOP representative.

In a Friday hearing, the court denied the campaign's request for emergency action on the observers, according to a statement released by Philadelphia City Commissioners. The McCormick campaign later withdrew its motion on the handling of provisional ballots, the statement continued.

The legal filings did not cause any delay in Philadelphia's ballot canvassing process, a spokesperson for the election officials said.

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

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: McCormick continues Senate victory lap, Casey refuses to concede