Scranton native Sen. Bob Casey refuses to say if Biden or Harris is better for Pa. in heated debate against Dave McCormick

HARRISBURG, Pa.— Sen.

Bob Casey raised eyebrows debating GOP challenger Dave McCormick Thursday night when the Scranton native refused to say which Democrat would be better for Pennsylvania — Vice President Kamala Harris or former candidate President Biden.Casey initially dodged ABC27 moderator Dennis Owens’ question, then visibly bit his lip before responding when pressed.“Oh, I don’t know, Dennis.

We’ll never know the answer to that,” the Democrat said.“The voters are going to make a decision.”Of course, the decision of the nearly 14.5 million Americans who voted for Biden — another Scranton native — in this year’s Democratic primaries was thrown out the window.

The Casey-McCormick face-off in Harrisburg was the first of three planned debates in the tight race; they’ve agreed to meet again in Philadelphia Oct.15 and Pittsburgh on an unspecified date.McCormick attempted to paint Casey as “weak” and “liberal” in their first matchup, tying the senator’s voting record to Biden and Harris while repeatedly touting his campaign’s opposition website about the incumbent, CaseyLies.com.“You should ask yourself: 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?” McCormick said.Casey largely focused his attacks on McCormick’s past residence in Connecticut while CEO of the hedge fund Bridgewater Associates.When Casey cited an August 2023 AP article alleging McCormick lied about his Pennsylvania residency, the businessman fired back fiercely.

“The fact that he got some reporter at the Associated Press to validate his lies or reinforce his lies does not mean it’s true,” the Republican replied.McCormick moved back to Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood in 2022 to run for Senate but grew up in Bloomsburg.

Both men accused each other of not standing up to their party’s more “extreme” factions, par...