Pennsylvania Ousts Longtime Democratic Sen. Bob Casey to Elect Ex-Hedge Fund CEO Dave McCormick

Republicans picked up another Senate seat on Thursday, Nov. 7, after previously unseating Democratic incumbents in Ohio and Montana

Former hedge fund CEO Dave McCormick has widened Republicans' Senate lead by ousting Democratic Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey in a tight battleground race, The Associated Press projects.

McCormick's win adds to a list of key GOP victories across the Senate map as the Republican Party prepares to take back control of Congress' upper chamber in January.

Casey, the son of a former two-term Pennsylvania governor, campaigned in recent months with Vice President Kamala Harris in an effort to drum up enthusiasm in the fiercely divided battleground state.

Republicans performed better than many polls predicted in Pennsylvania, including by electing Donald Trump in the presidential election.

Related: Donald Trump Wins Pennsylvania, Taking Home the Biggest Battleground Prize

The lead-up to the Pennsylvania Senate election was, at times, bitter. Casey, 64, and McCormick, 59, went head-to-head last month in a debate where each accused the other of being dishonest.

“Probably the biggest lie told in the whole election,” Casey said during the debate on Thursday, Oct. 3, “was a lie when my opponent said he lived in Pennsylvania when he was living in Connecticut.”

Casey also questioned McCormick’s work as a hedge fund manager, while McCormick swung back and labeled the senator as a career politician. “When you don’t have a record to run on, which Sen. Casey does not, you attack your opponent,” McCormick said.

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Heading into Election Day, Casey was the slight favorite to win the race, leading McCormick by 2.8 points in FiveThirtyEight's polling average.