Sen. Casey pulls in his largest fundraising haul as he gears up for 2024 reelection campaign

Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey brought in the highest quarterly fundraising haul of his career, as he gears up for what is sure to be an expensive and hotly contested 2024 reelection campaign.

Casey raised $4 million in the last three months, the first fundraising quarter since announcing his bid for reelection, his campaign said Wednesday. That’s $1.2 million higher than his previous best quarter at the start of his reelection bid in 2017 and raises his total campaign cash on hand to $6 million, the campaign said.

It comes as Casey prepares for what could be one of the most prominent Senate races as Democrats try to hold on to a razor-thin majority in the U.S. Senate, relying in part on the popularity of incumbents in swing states such as Pennsylvania.

Last year, then-Lt. Gov. John Fetterman also raised $4 million in the first quarter of his Senate primary campaign but ramped up to raising $22 million in the third quarter. Pennsylvania’s 2022 Senate campaign was the most expensive race in the country.

No Democrats have announced a challenge to the three-term senator for the Democratic nomination.

Republican David McCormick, who lost in the GOP primary last year, has indicated he’s interested in running but has not officially jumped into the race.

McCormick does frequent media interviews and appearances related to his book, Superpower in Peril, which was published in March. It’s unclear when he might announce his candidacy, at which point he can officially start fundraising for his campaign.

McCormick started a political action committee, Pennsylvania Rising, to support other GOP candidates running for office. The PAC reported raising more than $1 million in the last month, most of it from GOP mega-donor Jeffrey Yass, who backed McCormick in last year’s GOP primary.

McCormick can’t use those funds on his own campaign, but its work helps to keep his name in the political conversation before he officially becomes a candidate and as he readies to face one of Pennsylvania’s best-known political brands in Casey.

McCormick entered last year’s open primary in mid-January and went on to suffer a bruising but narrow loss to celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz that spring.

A former hedge fund manager and Army veteran, McCormick grew up in Bloomsburg, but lived in Connecticut before launching his 2022 run. He held several jobs in the George W. Bush administration before becoming chief executive of Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund, a role he left ahead of his run last year.

Casey has served in the Senate since 2007. He was previously the state’s auditor general from 1997 to 2005 and state treasurer from 2005 to 2007. His father, Bob Casey, is a former governor of the state.

Born in Scranton, Casey, known for his subdued but affable demeanor, has close ties to labor and is a prominent ally of President Joe Biden’s. In a recent poll of Pennsylvania voters, Casey had a higher approval rating than Biden and Pennsylvania’s freshman junior senator, Fetterman, who has dealt with health challenges in the start of his first term.

Casey also had a health scare: He had successful surgery for prostate cancer in February and is not expected to require further treatment, his office has said.

He is expected to continue fundraising over the summer and campaigning by proxy as he touts Biden and Democratic-led legislation funding infrastructure projects around the state.

He was in a similar position in 2017, the last time he ran for reelection. That summer, Casey raised $2.6 million in the first quarter of his campaign, adding to a total pot of about $5.6 million, as he waited to see who his potential GOP challengers would be.

Former U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta, who got into the race in August 2017, won the GOP primary but was hugely outspent and lost to Casey by 13 points in the general election.