Can Dave McCormick Go Home Again?

When Republican Dave McCormick launched his Senate campaign in Pittsburgh last month, he went into painstaking detail about his Pennsylvania roots. 

His ancestors, he said, have been in the commonwealth for 200 years. “I’m Pennsylvania first,” he told the crowd at his launch event. “I’m a seventh-generation Pennsylvanian, born right here in Washington, Pennsylvania, right down Route 79.” He talked about his time growing up in Bloomsburg, and how his father was the state’s chancellor for education 

He continued: “And as my dad will tell you, my great, great, great, great, great grandfather emigrated from Ireland and settled in Western Pennsylvania in the 1800’s.”

But reporting from the AP and flight records obtained by The Messenger suggest McCormick still lives in Connecticut. 

Federal Aviation Records list McCormick as a part owner of four Platius PC-12 planes. He participates in PlaneSense’s PC-12 fractional ownership program. PlaneSense is a company that allows individuals who purchased one of their planes to access a whole fleet of private jets. 

Vanity Fair previously reported on the arrangement. According to flight data, McCormick flew on Monday, September 18th from Bridgeport, Connecticut to Harrisburg to visit the state capitol, where he was spotted meeting with state Sen. Doug Mastriano, the hard-right 2022 GOP gubernatorial nominee. The same plane took off back to Bridgeport hours later. 

And on August 9, another plane operated by PlaneSense flew from Bridgeport to Allegheny County. McCormick attended a local GOP event the next day. Then, three days later, another PlaneSense plane flew from Allegheny County back to Bridgeport. 

McCormick launched his campaign on September 21st. On the 22nd, he was in Erie — the state’s quintessential bellwether county — for an interview about his campaign. 

On the same day, flight tracking data obtained by The Messenger showed a plane owned by PlaneSense departed from Erie around 2 p.m. and landed in Bridgeport an hour and twenty minutes later. 

McCormick ran for Senate last year but narrowly lost the primary to celebrity Dr. Mehmet Oz by less than a thousand votes. Democrats relentlessly painted Oz and McCormick as “carpetbaggers,” and the party has continued that line of attack against him as he gears up to challenge Democratic Sen. Bob Casey. 

“David McCormick didn’t even bother staying in Pennsylvania for a full day after launching his campaign because he actually lives in Connecticut,” said Maddy McDaniel, senior communications advisor for the Pennsylvania Democratic Party. 

A spokesperson for McCormick declined to comment but pointed to his comments during an interview last Sunday, where he said he spent the majority of time during his 2022 campaign in Pennsylvania and that he left the commonwealth to pursue a business opportunity. McCormick moved to Connecticut when he became the CEO of Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund.  He said Pittsburgh was his home and also noted that he owns a family farm in Bloomsburg. 

“Like many Pennsylvanians, I’m divorced, and I have my youngest child, she’s finishing up high school. She lives with her mom in Connecticut,” he said on This Week in PA. “So I’m going to go to Connecticut and be a good dad. And if there’s a political cost associated with that, so be it.” 

He went on to call the issue a “distraction,” arguing that Democrats are raising the issue because Casey lacks a “consequential voting record” and votes with President Biden a majority of the time. 

In a briefing with reporters before his launch, an adviser to McCormick argued that “voters are smart and can discern the truth,” referring to his roots growing up in Pennsylvania. 

“The reality is that Dave’s a divorced dad. He has a daughter in high school in Connecticut. And, you know, we’re never going to apologize for that,” the adviser said. 

Unlike last year, the field has cleared for McCormick. He was endorsed by the Pennsylvania Republican Party, and he hasn’t drawn a primary challenger just yet. 

Defeating Casey is a top priority for Republicans in 2024, with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell naming the race as one of four the party will initially focus on. 

A poll released Wednesday by Quinnipiac University found Casey leads McCormick, 50%-44%, even as former President Donald Trump leads President Joe Biden, 47%-45%, underscoring how difficult it will be to unseat Casey, a three-term incumbent.