Fetterman responds to Casey's concession: 'This hits me'

Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) weighed in on fellow Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey’s (D) concession in the contentious upper-chamber race on Thursday, hailing him as "Pennsylvania’s best senator.” 

Fetterman’s reaction came just minutes after Casey, a three-term senator, conceded to Republican challenger Dave McCormick in Pennsylvania’s Senate race that went to a recount. 

“This hit me,” Fetterman said in a statement on Thursday. “It’s been a supreme honor to have Bob Casey as a colleague, friend and mentor. His legacy is better than Pennsylvania.” 

Fetterman, Pennsylvania’s junior senator, praised Casey’s work in Congress.

“Unassuming while delivering for PA for nearly two decades, he fought for working Pennsylvanians and union, rural communities, seniors and people with disabilities — all of us,” Fetterman said. “Bob Casey was, is, and always will be Pennsylvania’s best senator.” 

Casey’s reelection bid against McCormick, a businessman, went to a recount after the vote totals were within the one-half of 1 percent margin. 

The Associated Press (AP) called the race for the GOP challenger two days after Election Day. Fetterman criticized the AP for calling the contest and argued the news wire “shouldn’t make a call in this race until every Pennsylvanian has their vote counted.”

The Hill’s partner, Decision Desk HQ, called the race for McCormick a week ago. In 2022, McCormick lost to Dr. Mehmet Oz in the Keystone State's Senate Republican Party primary. Oz ended up losing to Fetterman in the general election.

Casey’s concession came a few days after the state kicked off the recount procedures. Pennsylvania's Supreme Court issued an order Monday that counties are not able to count absentee and mail-in ballots with missing and incorrect dates. 

The Democratic incumbent, the son of the state’s former popular governor, said he called McCormick on Thursday “to congratulate him on his election to represent Pennsylvania in the United States Senate.” 

“As the first count of ballots is completed, Pennsylvanians can move forward with the knowledge that their voices were heard, whether their vote was the first to be counted or the last,” Casey said.