McCormick hits the mat with first ad in Pennsylvania Senate race

March 26, 2024 In the News

By Hans Nichols
Axios
March 26, 2024

Republican David McCormick is launching one of the first general election Senate ads of 2024, with a biographical spot that focuses on the glory and grit of high school wrestling in Pennsylvania.

Why it matters: McCormick — who was pilloried by his 2022 GOP primary opponent for having been CEO of Connecticut-based Bridgewater Associates, one of the world’s largest hedge funds — is spending early to tell his Pennsylvania story on his terms.

The ad is part of a seven-figure buy that will run across Pennsylvania and include spots during the NCAA basketball tournament, according to a McCormick campaign adviser.

Zoom in: McCormick lost a vicious GOP primary in 2022 to Trump-backed Mehmet Oz, who went on to lose to Sen. John Fetterman (D-Penn.).

Zoom out: Pennsylvania is one of several Senate races that will determine whether Republicans take control of the chamber from Democrats, who now have a slim majority.

The bottom line: Pennsylvania’s Senate race — with two big media markets (Philadelphia, Pittsburgh) running ads and the Biden-Trump rematch as a backdrop — will be among the most expensive in the country.

Watch the ad.