At literally the last minute of the first debate between Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate candidates in Harrisburg last night, challenger David McCormick (pictured above, right) dropped an attack against incumbent Senator Bob Casey, Jr., (pictured above, left) and against transgender people too.
The hourlong debate was already short on ideas to improve the lives of Pennsylvanians, and did not include a single question about LGBTQ-specific issues or people. The candidates seemed keenly aware of The Keystone State’s key role in the 2024 election that could determine whether the pro-equality Senate majority remains in control.
Like the race for President, LGBTQ equality and safety are on the ballot in the fight for the Senate majority: whether we could have a national ban on abortion or the restoration of Roe, judicial confirmations including for the U.S. Supreme Court, ongoing efforts to expand voting rights, the fate of the Equality Act to ensure LGBTQ equality in all states, and common sense gun reform, all depend on who is in the majority in the Senate.
For 59 minutes of the 60 minute debate, candidates sparred on topics such as McCormick not being from Pennsylvania—his hedge fund is based in Connecticut and at least one of his oft-mentioned six daughters is in school in Connecticut. The candidates were asked about trade, immigration, tax cuts, fracking, the Senate filibuster—Casey is for it, says senators should have to show their votes to the people who elected them, not hide behind a procedure requiring 60 votes on issues that have broad popular support including abortion and gun violence reform. McCormick opposes reforming the filibuster. The candidates were asked about abortion: McCormick brought up his daughters, then said he believed the states should decide who can get an abortion. Casey said he was fighting to restore Roe.
These issues have a disproportionate impact on LGBTQ Americans and LGBTQ Pennsylvanians. Nearly half a million LGBTQ people live in Pennsylvania. Twenty-seven percent of LGBTQ people in Pennsylvania are raising children. By 2040, 1 in 5 Pennsylvanians will be out as LGBTQ. Debate moderator Dennis Owens of Harrisburg’s ABC27 did not raise LGBTQ people in his questions to Casey and McCormick.
At 8:58PM it was time for closing statements. McCormick used his minutes to describe the ways “our commonwealth is in trouble” and criticize Casey and his record, winding up to: “Bob Casey actually voted for biological males to compete in women’s sports.”
GLAAD fact checked McCormick’s statement:
REALITY CHECK: “Biological males” is a term coined by anti-LGBTQ extremists to undermine transgender people and their authentic identity. Sen. Casey sponsored the Safe Schools Improvement Act, which prohibits bullying and harassment against LGBTQ young people.
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Additional facts:
- States with policies that include transgender girls have more girls participating in school sports than states with bans.
- Sen. Casey’s Senate page lists the ways “Senator Casey is committed to ensuring that our government provides equal protection under the law for all, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.” He also supports Title IX expansion to include protections for LGBTQ students from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
- Targeting transgender people is a losing campaign strategy. GLAAD’s voter poll from earlier this year shows 53% of both registered and likely 2024 voters say they would oppose “a political candidate [who] speaks frequently about restricting access to health care and participation in sports for transgender youth.”
Casey did not address McCormick’s swipe at transgender people in his closing statement.
GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis responded on Twitter/X
In tonight’s debate between candidates for Senate from Pennsylvania, challenger David McCormick used his closing statement to take a swipe at transgender people.
— Sarah Kate Ellis (@sarahkateellis) October 4, 2024
“Transgender people and youth are disproportionately targeted by bullying and violence. Trans women have been murdered in Pennsylvania. A transgender teenager was murdered in Sharon, PA this summer. Trans youth, like all of us, want to be themselves, be safe, and participate in activities to make friends, set goals, and have fun,” Ellis wrote.
Ellis directed readers to GLAAD research on the LGBTQ records of Pennsylvania’s Senate candidates, “which includes McCormick’s support for disgraced book banning extremists, Moms for Liberty.”
Moms for Liberty has had a spectacular downfall in Pennsylvania, with its endorsed and affiliated candidates defeated in school board elections, and a chapter closing due to lack of interest. “I’m so tired of these psychos,” one headline summed it up. “Even Moms for Liberty Are Tired of Moms for Liberty,” said another. At one time, Moms for Liberty had a chapter in each of Pennsylvania’s 17 Congressional districts, all of which have U.S. House races this fall.
But Moms for Liberty-style extremists are STILL making news in Pennsylvania, like the school board of South Western, which ordered glass surveillance windows in gender-inclusive school bathrooms. “A new level of weird,” the York Dispatch editorial board wrote, while also noting the taxpayer-funded Christian law firm hired by anti-LGBTQ activists on the board recommended “spending $8,700 to cut windows so passersby can look into the so-called “gender-identity” student bathrooms.”
In the debate last night, McCormick was not asked about his support of Moms for Liberty, or its affiliated school boards, or about LGBTQ youth safety and acceptance. Casey was not asked about his support for LGBTQ people and youth. The next debate is set for October 15th in Philadelphia.