David McCormick is running against Bob Casey — but also a little bit John Fetterman

As David McCormick took the stage to launch his Senate run last month, an introduction video played on a giant screen beside the stage.

The first image of a senator wasn’t Democratic Sen. Bob Casey, whom McCormick is hoping to challenge next fall. It was Sen. John Fetterman.

“How many of you are starting to think we need to get off our asses and start doing something?” McCormick’s voice says after images of President Joe Biden, Fetterman, and then Casey flashed on the screen.

The pump-up video, coming to a McCormick rally near you, suggests that Biden and Fetterman, who are more polarizing than Casey, will loom large over the 2024 Pennsylvania Senate race. Fetterman, in particular, has become an infamous figure to the GOP, which hopes to use him as a cautionary tale to motivate the Republican base. Meanwhile, Fetterman, who remains popular with the Democratic base, could be a huge asset for Casey — and is already helping him raise money and campaign.

“What is different this time is, in part, John Fetterman,” Pennsylvania GOP chair Lawrence Tabas said at McCormick’s Southeastern Pennsylvania launch last month at a bar in Bridgeport.

“Now the voters see what happens when you really don’t pay attention and you don’t vote smart for our state. Fetterman got in. They control the Senate. Chuck Schumer said it’s OK to wear shorts and hoodies. Voters want adults who are responsible to be running the government.”

Republicans across the country are criticizing Biden and tying Democratic candidates to him as the president’s approval ratings have lagged. So attacking Casey as a proxy for Biden is expected, and it’s a main strategy McCormick has debuted in recent weeks. But the Republican preoccupation with Fetterman, the larger-than-life freshman senator, could present an opportunity to galvanize McCormick’s base against someone who evokes intense emotions.

Casey, a mild-mannered three-term incumbent, isn’t a lightning rod like his counterpart.

“What Casey’s got going for him, he’s all soft corners,” GOP political consultant Chris Nicholas said. “He doesn’t engender hardcore feelings in a lot of people.”

In an interview with ABC27, McCormick said of his opponent, “I’m sure Bob Casey’s a nice guy. I’m not running against that. I’m running against the fact that ... we need leadership to make a difference and that he’s been lock step with Joe Biden.”

Fetterman, on the other hand, ignited one of the biggest political news stories of the season — no, not the almost-government shutdown — when the Senate briefly nixed its dress code, allowing him to don shorts and a hoodie in the chamber. He was attacked for his casual style of dress by Republican lawmakers and on Fox News, where he’s long been a topic of fascination.

“The spectacle in Washington with Fetterman has made him more of a motivator for base Republicans than is Casey at this point,” GOP strategist Brock McCleary said. “So early on in McCormick’s race, it makes a good bit of sense to improve Republican engagement by putting Fetterman in focus along with Biden.”

Supporters who came to see McCormick in Pittsburgh and Bridgeport brought up Fetterman, unprompted, when asked about the race ahead.

“He nearly won last time,” Indiana County GOP Chair, Randy Degenkolb said of McCormick’s unsuccessful primary run last year against Mehmet Oz, who went on to lose to Fetterman. “Look how that ended up. Look who we’ve got in there now.”

Marc Rudov, a conservative commentator, also named Fetterman and noted Democrats control the state House, the Supreme Court, both Senate seats, and the governor’s mansion. “[McCormick] has to sell that Pennsylvania is going hard left. You have to explain, I can do something about this now, you don’t have to wait until 2028.”

For Casey, who is likely facing one of the toughest campaign challengers since he was first elected to the Senate in 2006, Fetterman could be a key ally — and a helpful contrast.

“In a presidential year that is likely to have a fair amount of chaos around it, Casey is gonna ultimately try to sell himself as a safe, serious choice in uncertain times,” McCleary said. “Fetterman becomes a good contrast as he tries to himself be seen as the more centrist senator.”

The two recently held a “hoodies and ties,” fundraiser laying bare and having fun with their different styles.

And in terms of fundraising, Fetterman, who considers Casey a mentor and close friend, will likely be hugely helpful. Fetterman has experience bringing in big low-dollar donations, something Casey can benefit from in what is expected to be an incredibly expensive Senate race.

Fetterman tried to use his star power to draw attention to his colleague’s campaign last month by walking around the Capitol building with a cardboard cutout of Casey’s face in his front pocket.

And Fetterman’s staff, which includes many of his former campaign staffers from the last Senate campaign, are well-versed in campaign trolling. Fetterman himself has also already jumped into the fray.

“If David McCormick is asking for John Fetterman to clown on him, John is very skilled at making sure people know an out-of-state carpetbagger when they see one,” said Brendan McPhillips, Fetterman’s campaign manager in 2022.

Democrats have started trying to paint McCormick as a wealthy out-of-touch transplant with ties to China who won’t help the working class. That’s a message Fetterman, who campaigned with dedicated outreach to rural and working-class voters, could help Casey deliver.

“Republicans fundamentally misunderstood John’s strengths time and time again in 2022,” another Democratic strategist who worked on Fetterman’s campaign said. “I think they think there’s a boogeyman there that doesn’t exist and they’re throwing spaghetti at the wall because they don’t know what to attack Bob on, because he’s Mr. Pennsylvania. People like him.

“There are partisan Republicans who don’t like John but they’re not foaming at the mouth about Bob Casey.”