Pa.'s U.S. Senate race between Bob Casey and Dave McCormick heads to a recount

(This story has been updated to include the latest information about the Senate recount.)

Pennsylvania's nationally-watched U.S. Senate contest between GOP businessman Dave McCormick and three-term incumbent Sen. Bob Casey will head to a statewide recount, state elections officials announced Wednesday.

As of Wednesday afternoon, McCormick and Casey were separated by roughly 29,000 votes or less than 0.5% of the total, falling within the margin that triggers a legally-mandated recount.

Casey had the option of conceding defeat and waiving his right to a recount, which will cost an estimated $1 million or more of taxpayer funds. But the Democrat, who has not acknowledged his loss, has opted instead to let it proceed.

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

“Senator Casey wants all Pennsylvanians’ voices to be heard as local county elections officials continue to count votes,” Tiernan Donohue, campaign manager for the three-term incumbent, said in a statement Wednesday morning. “This democratic process must be allowed to play out to determine the result of this election.”

In response to news of the recount, McCormick's campaign called the Republican senator-elect's lead "insurmountable."

"A recount will be a waste of time and taxpayer money, but it is Senator Casey's prerogative," campaign spokeswoman Elizabeth Gregory said in a statement.

She also referenced McCormick's 2022 defeat in the GOP Senate primary, saying he "knows what it's like to lose an election and is sure Senator Casey will eventually reach the right decision."

Casey's campaign has suggested the Associated Press prematurely called the race in McCormick’s favor and noted that other outlets have held off on declaring an outcome.

They also point to several court challenges filed by McCormick and Republicans as evidence the GOP contender is uncertain of his victory.

At the same time, Republicans are growing louder in their calls for Casey to admit defeat. The Fair Election Fund, a right-wing group, has begun airing a television ad that calls Casey and Democrats “sore losers” and accuses them of “disrespecting our democracy.”

"What happened to all the demands that our leaders accept the outcome of the elections?" Sen. Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican, posted on social media this week.

How will a Casey-McCormick Senate recount work?

The secretary of state had to order a recount no later than 5 p.m. Thursday, according to a state elections calendar. Under the law, races that are within the 0.5% margin of victory get an automatic recount paid for by the state and its counties.

However, the losing candidate can concede and ask that this second count not go forward.

If Casey did not want a recount in the race, he would have had to let state elections officials know in writing by noon Wednesday, according to the Pennsylvania elections calendar. The state department did not receive word the Casey campaign would forgo the recount, according to the office's spokesperson.

The recount will have to start by Nov. 20 and wrap up no later than Nov. 26.

It’s unlikely that another round of tabulations will change the race standings. The 0.5-percent rule has been triggered seven times in its history, and of the four statewide recounts that have gone forward, none has changed the outcome, according to the state department.

McCormick allowed a statewide recount in 2022 after losing the GOP Senate primary to Mehmet Oz by only about 1,000 votes. That recount cost slightly more than $1 million, according to the state department.

Oz was defeated by U.S. Sen. John Fetterman in the general election.

McCormick moves on, while Casey digs in

McCormick has been trying to put the election in the rearview this week and headed to Washington, D.C., for his Senate freshman orientation.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer initially declined to invite McCormick to Senate orientation, believing the race outcome was still unclear. Under pressure from Republicans, he ultimately extended the invite to Pennsylvania’s senator-elect.

McCormick posted photos with his wife in the nation's capital, including one of them standing next to the nameplate for his new Senate office.

Back in Pennsylvania, though, the fight has continued in the courts.

Last week, the Republican’s campaign filed a couple of lawsuits challenging provisional ballot-counting in Philadelphia. A judge dismissed one of them, and McCormick’s campaign withdrew the other.

The Republican National Committee this week appealed a Commonwealth Court ruling finding that Philadelphia officials violated the constitution by rejecting mail-in ballots for missing or having incorrect dates.

The RNC attorneys are asking the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to reverse this decision and find that a strictly-enforced dating requirement is not overly burdensome to mail-in voters. McCormick’s campaign in 2022 made the opposite argument and sued to have these ballots counted.

And Casey’s team has tried to portray the series of legal filings — one of which said the election outcome could be at stake — as an admission the results aren’t conclusive.

“When there is a difference between GOP talking points and legal filings, trust the legal filings,” a Democratic consultant said in a social media post that was reshared by a Casey campaign spokeswoman.

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

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: How will a recount work in Pa.'s Casey-McCormick US Senate race?