HARRISBURG, Pa. — Democratic U.S. Senator Bob Casey and Republican businessman Dave McCormick wasted little time attacking each other's records at their first senate debate on Tuesday night in Harrisburg.
The candidates met with the backdrop of a tightly contested election in one of the closest watched races in the country, as control of the Senate could potentially be decided by a single seat.
Casey chided McCormick for his record as the CEO of hedge fund Bridgewater Associates, including his investments in a Chinese company which produces fentanyl.
"My opponent, unfortunately, as a hedge fund CEO, invested millions of dollars in the largest producer of fentanyl," Casey said.
McCormick attacked Casey's record in the Senate, including his support for stimulus packages such as the American Rescue Plan which McCormick says helped drive inflation.
"The cause of inflation is the policies, the out of control spending of Biden-Harris-Casey," McCormick said. "Bob Casey voted 100% of the time for that $5 trillion of new spending."
On the economy, Casey accused McCormick of supporting plans which would balloon the national debt and deficit.
"His plan is to double down on debt explosion," Casey said. "He wants to support a bill in 2025 that will jack up the debt by $4 trillion at least."
McCormick accused Casey of dishonesty and of running a campaign without substance.
“Why is a senator with an 18 year track record, who should be able to run on his record, running his entire campaign with a negative set of attacks on me, most of them lies?”
Both candidates expressed support for Israel following the recent missile attack against it from Iran.
With a little over a month until the election, Casey and McCormick each closed the debate by making their case for why they should represent Pennsylvania in the Senate.
"We need common sense leadership that's going to secure the border, get our economy back on track and keep America safe," McCormick said. "Our Commonwealth deserves change."
"Every day I've been a United States Senator, I've gone to work for the people of our state, fighting for working families, fighting for workers themselves, fighting for our children, seniors, people with disabilities, our veterans," Casey said. "And I've got a strong record on all those issues."