As Pennsylvania’s razor-thin U.S. Senate race enters a statewide recount, Minnesota’s U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith remain silent amid growing controversy surrounding their Democratic colleague, Sen. Bob Casey.
A review of Klobuchar and Smith’s X (formerly Twitter) accounts revealed no posts addressing the Pennsylvania Senate race. Alpha News reached out to both senators for comment but received no response.
Republican challenger Dave McCormick holds a narrow lead of approximately 17,000 votes out of nearly 7 million cast, triggering an automatic recount under Pennsylvania law due to the margin falling within 0.5%, according to the Associated Press.
The Pennsylvania Secretary of State’s Office showed McCormick with 48.8% of the vote to Casey’s 48.6%, a slim 0.2% advantage. This prompted the Associated Press to project McCormick as the winner, reporting his 3,398,627 votes compared to Casey’s 3,382,260.
While McCormick has declared victory, Casey has yet to concede.
Defying the courts
The race has garnered national attention after Democratic officials in Bucks County voted to count illegal ballots, openly defying a Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling.
Bucks County Democrat Commissioners Diane Marseglia and Bob Harvie voted to count mail-in ballots that lacked required handwritten dates, despite the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling earlier this week that such ballots must be excluded from the count.
“We all know precedent by a court doesn’t matter anymore in this country,” Marseglia said during a heated elections meeting, adding, “If I violate this law, it’s because I want the court to pay attention. There is nothing more important than counting votes.”
Marseglia doubled down with another eyebrow-raising comment, saying, “People violate laws any time they want,” according to a video clip that has since gone viral.
🚨🚨🚨#BucksCounty Democrat Commissioners violate the rule of law and ignore PA Supreme Court ruling!
Democrat Commissioners Diane Marseglia and Bob Harvie voted today to count illegal ballots, against PA Supreme Court ruling, in an attempt to aid former Senator Bob Casey.… pic.twitter.com/qAdFlVchmh
— Bucks GOP (@BucksGOP) November 14, 2024
Widespread backlash
The viral video drew activists to Wednesday’s Bucks County commissioners meeting, including prominent conservative organizer Scott Pressler.
Addressing Marseglia, Pressler said, “Peacefully, we are coming for your seat in 2027 — if you don’t resign today.”
Marseglia fired back, “Have at it.”
I told Democrat Commissioner Diane Marseglia to her face,
“Peacefully, we are coming for your seat in 2027 — if you don’t resign today.”
She replied, “Have at it.”
Also called for Marc Elias & his cronies to be disbarred from practicing in Pennsylvania.
Bucks County roared. pic.twitter.com/RieSYhawI8
— ThePersistence (@ScottPresler) November 20, 2024
Pressler also called for Democratic attorney Marc Elias and his associates to be disbarred for their role in challenging election laws, a comment that drew cheers from the crowd.
The meeting ended with many residents demanding the resignation of the two Democratic commissioners, accusing them of undermining election integrity.
Shapiro condemns defiance
Even Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, weighed in, rebuking county officials for ignoring the state Supreme Court’s ruling.
“Any insinuation that our laws can be ignored or do not matter is irresponsible and does damage to faith in our electoral process,” Shapiro said. “The rule of law matters in Pennsylvania. … It is critical for counties in both parties to respect it with both their rhetoric and their actions.”
Marseglia later apologized for her comments, saying: “Last Thursday, when I spoke at the meeting that you’re all here about, the passion in my heart got the best of me, and I apologize again for that.”
The court ruling that changed the game
Earlier this week, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that mail-in ballots missing a correct handwritten date on the return envelope must not be counted.
This decision delivered a significant blow to Casey’s campaign, which had hoped to include those ballots in the final tally.
As it currently stands, Republicans will hold a 53-47 seat majority in the U.S. Senate next year.
Jenna Gloeb
Jenna Gloeb is an Edward R. Murrow Award-winning journalist, media producer, public speaker, and screenwriter. Most recently, she worked as a reporter and on-air host for CCX Media. Jenna is a Minnesota native and resides in the Twin Cities with her husband, son, daughter, and two dogs.
