PA U.S. Senate Race Results: See Casey, McCormick Tallies

UPDATED: 7:50 a.m.

PENNSYLVANIA — The contentious Pennsylvania U.S. Senate race between three-time Democratic incumbent Bob Casey and Republican multimillionaire businessman Dave McCormick had McCormick with a slight lead Wednesday morning.

As of 7:45 a.m., McCormick led Casey with 3,266,014 votes to Casey's 3,198,567 votes, according to the Pennsylvania Department of State. All election results are unofficial until verified by county elections boards across the state.

The Casey campaign expressed optimism early Wednesday that Casey ultimately will prevail when all votes are counted. But he did not speak at his election night party in his hometown of Scranton and his supporters were told shortly before midnight to go home in hopes a Casey victory would become clear on Wednesday.

The race between Casey and McCormick could help determine which party controls the Senate, which perhaps explains the the campaign's harsh nature that has seen both blast the other in TV commercials for months.

Casey has portrayed McCormick as a carpetbagger from Connecticut whose financial investments have included Chinese companies that produce fentanyl. McCormick has painted Casey as a weak and inefficient Senator who votes nearly all of the time with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

Casey, 64, won his U.S. Senate seat in 2006. He served as state treasurer and auditor general prior to that. His father, Robert Casey, served as Pennsylvania governor in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

McCcormick, 59, who headed the Bridgewater Capital hedge fund from 2017-22, is making his second bid for a Senate seat. He ran in 2022, but was defeated in the Republican primary by celebrity physician Mehmet Oz. John Fetterman bested Oz in the general election to grab the seat.

For full coverage of the election in Pennsylvania, go here.