Two more candidates file papers to run for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Two more candidates filed paperwork Thursday to appear on Pennsylvania’s primary ballots for U.S. Senate, as Democratic Sen. Bob Casey runs for a fourth term and Democrats try to maintain a majority in the closely divided chamber.
Brandi Tomasetti, a Republican from Lancaster County, and William Parker, a Democrat from Allegheny County, both filed the paperwork before a court-imposed deadline.
Both Parker and Tomasetti had gone to court to challenge the state elections office’s rejection of paperwork they filed before the Feb. 13 deadline set by state law. The state dropped its objections in court.
In addition to Casey, previously filed candidates include David McCormick, the ex-hedge fund CEO who is endorsed by the Republican Party and who narrowly lost the 2022 Republican Party primary to Dr. Mehmet Oz, and perennial candidate Joe Vodvarka, a retired Pittsburgh-area feather manufacturer who is making his fifth bid for the U.S. Senate and second as a Republican.
The primaries are on April 23.
Parker, who developed a mobile vending app, has lost primaries for Allegheny County and U.S. Congress over the past two years.
Tomasetti, a former municipal government employee, is running for office for the first time.
Vodvarka’s petitions are being challenged in court, with a hearing scheduled for March 5.
Pennsylvania’s Senate candidates will split a ticket next year with candidates for president in a state crucial to whether Democrats can retain control of the White House and Senate.
Casey is a staunch supporter of the Democratic Party of Pennsylvania – the son of a former two-term governor and Pennsylvania’s longest-serving Democrat in the Senate.
McCormick, 58, was heavily recruited to lead the party again and has deep pockets, high-level connections in the business community and support from major Republican donors.
A race between Casey and McCormick could be one of the most expensive in the country and closely watched in a year when Democrats face a tough 2024 Senate map in which they must defend incumbents in red states and multiple swing states.