Dave McCormick visits Altoona trucking business on Senate campaign tour

ALTOONA, Pa. (WTAJ) — Republican Dave McCormick visited Ward Trucking in Altoona Monday as he’s campaigning to unseat incumbent Senator Bob Casey.

In a normal election year, it might be a bit surprising to see a candidate for the U.S. Senate making a campaign stop in Blair County on a Monday morning. However, this is anything but a normal election year and it is not McCormick’s first rodeo.

He ran for the Republican nomination for the Senate in 2022 and narrowly lost to Mehmet Oz. That loss convinced his wife and six daughters to do all they could to convince him not to run for office again. However, McCormick decided to buy a bus and begin a new campaign to unseat Senator Casey.

Riding in a red, white and blue bus, McCormick is taking his campaign on the road to all 67 Pennsylvania counties, including his visit with veterans and employees of ward trucking. He’s forgotten about that loss two years ago and instead focuses on what he says are Bob Casey’s policies that are out of step with most Pennsylvanians.

“His war on oil and gas, his border policies, his support for biological males competing with biological females; all these positions are out of touch with Pennsylvanians,” McCormick said.

Blair County is smack in the middle of what politically is known as the “T” in PA. The middle of the commonwealth where family values, conservative politics and common sense are king. The voters of the “T” are clear-eyed about what they want this election year.

“We are in a bad situation right now,” Retired U.S. Army Veteran Mike Sanders said. “People aren’t just paying attention and if we don’t get this right our country is in dire straights.”

McCormick is endorsed by Donald Trump. However, the candidate had little to say about the former president on Monday morning. He is aware that some paths to victory could depend on Trump’s coattails but he insists he does not need Trump to win.

“I can appeal to voters across the continuum. I can appeal to Republicans and I can appeal to independents. As I said in my remarks today, PA is becoming a red state and there is a real opportunity for change,” McCormick said.

He’s confident that if he beats Bob Casey in November, his victory will flip the U.S. Senate back to Republican control.