Sen. Bob Casey and Republican challenger David McCormick to appear on Pennsylvania ballot

Pennsylvania politics was shaken up this week after the state's high court made a crucial ruling on the upcoming Senate primary.

According to The Hill, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that only Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) and his Republican challenger David McCormick will appear on the ballot in the upcoming Senate primary.

The ruling was a result of a successful challenge to keep the other unknown candidates off of the primary ballot.

Casey, McCormick to appear alone on Senate ballots in Pennsylvania after courts boot off challengers https://t.co/p03lSeJTHc

— The Associated Press (@AP) March 23, 2024

Both Casey and McCormick are all but guaranteed primary wins in the upcoming April 23 election.

The Hill noted:

Casey, the incumbent who has served in his Senate seat since 2007, led McCormick in the polls earlier this year by a comfortable margin. McCormick, a former hedge fund CEO, previously ran for Senate in 2022 but lost the Republican nomination to Dr. Mehmet Oz.

What's most significant about the Pennsylvania Senate race will be the fact that it could be the determining factor in which party holds the majority power in the upper chamber next year.

Because of the ultra-high stakes, both Casey and McCormick will be inundated with support -- including mountains of financial support -- from their respective parties, not to mention other kinds of influential support from high-profile colleagues and surrogates.

Casey, the incumbent, still has the upper hand both in name recognition and polling. However, many believe McCormick will be a formidable challenger who, with the right support, could mount a victory for Republicans in November.

The Hill noted:

According to The Hill/Decision Desk HQ, Casey leads McCormick in a March 13 poll. Casey has 44.8 percent support, while his challenger has 41 percent. About 14 percent of respondents are undecided.]

One can bet that each party will be heavily targeting the 14% of undecided voters, as the numbers are so close that even gaining a fraction of them could make all the different in determining a winner in what will likely be a razor-thin race.

For his part, McCormick has lumped in Casey with President Joe Biden's border policies, making it clear that both men are too dangerous for America's overall safety in a recent X post.

"Complete madness. Bob Casey, and Joe Biden should be ashamed for creating this crisis on our southern border that is directly leading to thousands of fentanyl deaths in PA and a huge spike in dangerous crime across the nation," McCormick wrote.

Hopefully, McCormick will continue to gain the momentum needed to secure the win in November.