(WHTM) – A preview of the 2024 Pennsylvania U.S. Senate race shows three-term Democrat U.S. Senator Bob Casey winning hypothetical matchups against Republicans Dave McCormick and Doug Mastriano.
In a Franklin & Marshall poll of 643 registered Pennsylvania voters, Casey leads McCormick, the runner-up to last year’s Republican U.S. Senate primary race, 42% to 35%.
McCormick, a former hedge fund CEO who lost last year’s nomination by less than 1,000 votes to Mehmet Oz, has not formally announced whether he plans to run in 2024.
On This Week in Pennsylvania with Dennis Owens, McCormick said “I’m terribly worried about the direction of the country. I want to try to find a way to serve. Not sure if running for the Senate is a way to do it. We’re praying and thinking about it as a family but I’m certainly considering it.”
Mastriano, a State Senator who lost the Governor’s race to Josh Shapiro by nearly 15%, faired worst against Casey in the Franklin & Marshall poll. The survey found Casey leading 47% to 31% in a hypothetical race against Mastriano.
Earlier this year Mastriano told POLITICO he is “praying” about whether to enter the race and that “after God, (Mastriano’s) wife, Rebbie, will have the final word” on whether he will run for Senate.
A Public Policy Polling survey released last month showed Mastriano leading McCormick and conservative author Kathy Barnette in a primary race. In that poll Mastriano received 39% support, followed by McCormick at 21%, Barnette at 11%, and 29% undecided.
A head-to-head matchup of Mastriano and McCormick in the Public Policy Polling survey had Mastriano leading with 42% to McCormick’s 28%.
Barnette, who finished third in last year’s Senate race, announced she did not plan to run in 2024.
The longtime Democratic U.S. Senator Casey announced this week he would seek a fourth term after undergoing treatment for prostate cancer.
The Franklin & Marshall poll found 57% of Democrats approve of Casey’s performance in the Senate; however, only 9% of Republicans and 21% of Independents approve of Casey’s job performance.
About 29% of Pennsylvanians think Casey is doing an excellent or good job as a Senator, according to the survey. Franklin & Marshall says Casey’s approval rating is down from the 43% he received in October 2018 prior to his last election, but remains in line with last year’s rating.
The survey was conducted prior to Casey announcing he would seek a fourth term. Franklin & Marshall says in their methodology the sample error is +/- 4.9% and the survey consisted of 287 Democrats, 266 Republicans, and 90 independents.
