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Pa. Senate debate: Start time, how to watch and stream first 2024 showdown between Casey and McCormick

Bob Casey and Dave McCormick will face off Thursday in Harrisburg in the first of at least two debates in this year's Pennsylvania Senate race.

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dave McCormick (left) and Democratic incumbent Sen. Bob Casey.
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dave McCormick (left) and Democratic incumbent Sen. Bob Casey.Read moreStaff file images
    by Rob Tornoe
    Published 

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey and challenger Dave McCormick will face off Thursday in Harrisburg in the first of two debates in this year’s key Pennsylvania Senate race, less than five weeks from Election Day.

Casey, an incumbent Democrat seeking his fourth term, has maintained an increasingly narrow lead in polls over McCormick, a wealthy former hedge fund CEO who lost the 2022 Republican Senate primary against TV personality Mehmet Oz.

This year’s Senate race certainly doesn’t match the level of interest in Oz’s contest against John Fetterman, the former Democratic lieutenant governor who won the race by just under 5 percentage points after suffering a stroke during the campaign.

Casey, 64, has been an outspoken supporter of Vice President Kamala Harris and has pegged his campaign around what he calls “greedflation,” accusing corporations of raising prices on consumers while enjoying record profits. Casey has also spoken out in favor of Harris’ plan to push legislation to protect and restore abortion rights across the country following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v Wade.

McCormick, 59, served in President George W. Bush’s administration and sat on former President Donald Trump’s Defense Advisory Board. He wasn’t backed by Trump in 2022 (the former president said McCormick “managed money for communist China” and was “not MAGA”), but has received Trump’s endorsement this time around and has appeared regularly at his Pennsylvania rallies, most recently Sunday in Erie.

» READ MORE: 2024 Pennsylvania voter's guide

Casey and McCormick will participate in a second debate on Oct. 15 in Philadelphia, which will air live on 6abc and Univision 65.

Here is what you need to know to watch or stream tonight’s debate:

What time does the Casey-McCormick debate start?

The debate between Casey and McCormick is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. and will last for an hour.

The matchup will take place in Harrisburg at the studios for abc27, an ABC affiliate that serves the Susquehanna Valley. News anchor Dennis Owens, who has been with the station for more than 30 years, will moderate the debate with questions “focused on local and regional issues impacting communities across Pennsylvania,” Nexstar said in a statement.

Where can I watch the debate?

The debate will air live in Philadelphia on PHL17. You can also stream it on abc27′s website.

Nationally, the debate will air live on NewsNation, Nexstar’s cable news network.

Throughout Pennsylvania and across the region, the debate will air on a number of local TV stations. Here’s a rundown of where you can tune in:

  1. WHTM-TV: Harrisburg, Lancaster, Lebanon, York, Pa.

  2. WETM 18: Elmira, N.Y.

  3. WFXP-TV: Erie, Pa.

  4. WYTV-TV: Youngstown, Ohio

  5. WBRE-TV: Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Hazleton, Pa.

  6. WTAJ-TV: Johnstown, Altoona, State College, Pa.

  7. KDKA+: Pittsburgh

  8. WPIX-TV: New York City

  9. WIVB: Buffalo, N.Y.

There’s also a Pa. attorney general debate tonight

Casey and McCormick won’t be the only Pennsylvania candidates taking the debate stage tonight.

Democrat Eugene DePasquale and Republican Dave Sunday will face off in Lancaster at 8 p.m. at the studios of WGAL-TV in the race to become Pennsylvania’s top law enforcement officer. The debate will be moderated by News8 news anchor Brian Roche.

You can stream that debate live here, courtesy WGAL: