Sen. Joe Manchin (I-WV) acknowledged Republican Senator-elect Dave McCormick’s victory over incumbent Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA), undercutting Senate Democrat Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Casey who continue to deny the election results.
The Associated Press (AP) called the race for McCormick Thursday after the few remaining votes left to be counted do not present Casey with a path to victory.
McCormick leads by almost 40,000 votes, but Manchin is the first member of Schumer’s Democrat Caucus to acknowledge the inevitable.
“While we are losing a good person and colleague in Senator Bob Casey, I believe the Senate will be gaining another good man in Senator-Elect David McCormick,” Manchin tweeted Sunday.
“Senator-Elect McCormick has committed to putting our country first, working in a bipartisan way, and most importantly, committed to preserving the 60 vote threshold of the filibuster.”
Schumer, by denying McCormick’s victory, is denying the senator-elect from participating in Senate orientation, a valuable period for new senators to learn the ropes to best work for the states as well as get to know their future colleagues.
Republicans blasted Schumer on Sunday for not allowing McCormick to attend Senate orientation.
“Senator-elect Dave McCormick won,” Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) tweeted. “Chuck Schumer’s shameful, election-denying decision to block McCormick from Senate orientation shows Schumer’s true character.”
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) pointed out Democrats’ hypocrisy by refusing to acknowledge the election.
“What happened to all the demands that our leaders accept the outcome of the elections?” he tweeted.
Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) even tweeted he is “willing to personally escort” McCormick “into the Capitol” so that he could attend the sessions.
A lifelong Democrat, Manchin switched his party affiliation to independent earlier this year — reportedly to maintain the option of running for president as an independent candidate — but he continues to caucus with Senate Democrats.
Bradley Jaye is a Capitol Hill Correspondent for Breitbart News. Follow him on X/Twitter at @BradleyAJaye.
