Democratic Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey raised eyebrows when he was asked whether his party’s nominee, Kamala Harris, or sitting President Joe Biden—a Scranton native—is better for his state during a debate with his Republican challenger Dave McCormick.
Casey didn’t immediately answer moderator Dennis Owens’ question, biting his lip when pressed on the point. Ultimately, he refused to pick one way or the other.
“Oh, I don’t know, Dennis. We’ll never know the answer to that,” Casey finally said. “The voters are going to make a decision.”
Harris and Biden seemed to factor prominently into McCormick’s debate strategy, as he tried to portray Casey as overly liberal by drawing a link between his voting record and the current executive branch.
Casey, for his part, centered his attack around the fact that McCormick used to have a residence in Connecticut, diminishing his claim to run in Pennsylvania.
The debate between Casey and McCormick is the first three planned in the tight Senate race.
Casey’s awkward response comes as Harris competes feverishly to win the battleground state, which Biden flipped in 2020, winning it by 1.2 percent—a key step in his victory over Donald Trump.
In particular, the competition will seem to center around Latino voters, a growing bloc which Biden won handily when he claimed the state. This could be bad news for Harris, as recent polling data showed that Trump is doing better with Latinos than any Republican nominee in the past 12 years—despite his history of making racist remarks about the demographic.
Harris’ fight for the state will be supported by former President Barack Obama, who is set to begin campaigning there on her behalf, beginning next week in Pittsburgh.
“President Obama believes the stakes of this election could not be more consequential and that is why he is doing everything he can to help elect Vice President Harris, Governor Walz and Democrats across the country,” said Eric Schulz, an Obama aide.
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