A top political handicapper shifted its rating on Monday in the pivotal Pennsylvania Senate race.
The race between incumbent Sen. Bob Casey and Republican challenger Dave McCormick is now considered a “Toss Up,” according to the handicapper. The battle was previously rated “Lean Democrat.”
According to Cook, McCormick’s closing of the gap and Casey’s latest ad showing that he sides with former President Trump on trade and tariffs are two of the main reasons behind the shift.
“While public polling in the Keystone State still shows Democratic Sen. Bob Casey with a slight lead, both Republican and Democratic internal polls show this is now a margin-of-error race, with Casey holding a slim, statistically insignificant lead of between one and two points,” the Cook Political Report’s Jessica Taylor wrote.
“Though many of the fundamentals may still very slightly favor Casey, this race is now close enough that it belongs more in the Toss Up column than in Lean Democrat alongside Arizona and Nevada, which have clearly become tougher lifts for the GOP,” she said.
Casey defeated McCormick among likely voters 48% to 44% in a recent New York Times/Philadelphia Inquirer/Siena College poll. The survey of 857 Pennsylvania voters was conducted between Oct. 7 and 10. The margin of error was +/- 3.8 percentage points.
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