The recent changes at the helm of the Democratic ticket sent shockwaves through local races when President Joe Biden announced the suspension of his reelection campaign and threw his support behind Vice President Kamala Harris last Sunday. U.S. Senate hopeful Dave McCormick made a visit to a natural gas site in Warren, Pennsylvania, on Friday, where he highlighted his “all of the above energy” strategy, contrasting it with Harris’ earlier remarks during her 2020 campaign about banning fracking.
McCormick wasted no time in redirecting attention to Kamala Harris this week as he competes for Senator Bob Casey’s Senate seat, which is viewed as a prime opportunity for Republicans aiming to reclaim control of the Senate. On Tuesday, McCormick launched an advertisement featuring snippets of Harris’ most progressive remarks alongside Casey’s endorsement, labeling Harris “the most liberal Presidential nominee in U.S. history.” The McCormick campaign argues that Casey’s endorsement of Harris demonstrates how he is “profoundly out of touch with the needs of Pennsylvanians.” A 60-second version of this advertisement will be broadcast this Monday during the Olympics in the Scranton-Wilkes Barre and Pittsburgh markets.
Pennsylvania Senate candidate Dave McCormick spoke to voters at the event. (Fox News)
For several months, McCormick has emphasized the connection between Senator Bob Casey and President Joe Biden, who, according to a Fox News poll conducted from June 7-10, holds a 58% disapproval rating. The day after the Pennsylvania primary in April, McCormick launched his initial general election ad titled “98 Percent,” criticizing Senator Bob Casey for voting with President Biden 98% of the time. For months, and most recently at the Republican National Convention, McCormick has contrasted “Biden and Casey’s failed policies” with the vision for Pennsylvania promoted by Trump and himself. With the presumptive Democratic nominee changing in under a week, the nature of Republican attacks has also evolved.
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Both former President Donald Trump and McCormick, who are both committed to the idea of enhancing American energy as central themes of their campaigns, seized on comments made by then-candidate Kamala Harris during a CNN town hall. “There’s no question I’m in favor of banning fracking,” Harris stated in 2019. Responding to Harris’ resurfaced comments at a rally in North Carolina on Wednesday, Trump remarked, “She wants no fracking.” Since then, President Harris and her campaign have attempted to clarify these now widely circulated remarks, asserting that she would not implement a fracking ban.
“Trump’s false claims about fracking bans are a blatant attempt to deflect from his own proposals which would benefit oil and gas executives at the expense of the working class,” asserted a spokesperson from the Harris campaign in a statement to Fox News. “The Biden-Harris Administration enacted the largest climate change legislation ever, and under their leadership, America is experiencing the highest levels of domestic energy production in history. This Administration created 300,000 energy jobs while Trump lost nearly a million, and his Project 2025 would roll back the considerable progress made in the last four years.”
When asked by Fox News regarding Harris’ comments, McCormick instead highlighted the track record of the Biden-Harris administration concerning energy, presenting a contrasting view to that of the Harris campaign.
“In this reckless push to eliminate fossil fuel use in our country through numerous EPA regulations, the ban on fracking, the halt on LNG, and the termination of the Keystone pipeline, the Biden administration has funneled hundreds of billions of dollars into transitioning to electric vehicles and solar panels,” McCormick said. “Most of these solar panels and lithium batteries are sourced from China, so in this misguided strategy propagated by radical environmentalists, we’ve effectively increased our dependency on our greatest adversary. This sums up the folly of the Biden administration’s energy policy: detrimental to security, harmful to our economy, and negative to the environment. We need pro-energy policies that expand opportunities here in Pennsylvania.”
In an exclusive interview with Fox News, Dave McCormick visited Bull Run Energy in Warren, Pennsylvania, on Friday. Co-founded by Justin Hansen and Sam Harvey, the company manages 19 employees and oversees 1,400 oil wells, drilling and fracking 5 or 6 wells annually. The majority of the oil extracted is used in products like lipstick and lubricants among other everyday items.
“Our company is quite small,” Harvey stated to Fox News on Friday. “We employ a total of 21 individuals, including myself and Justin. Most of the shallow conventional operators in northwest Pennsylvania are small businesses, which means we are not Big Oil. We are local people striving to make a living. It’s a very marginal operation, and it’s challenging to sustain a living from this work.”
Harvey highlighted the complexities of implementing a universal approach to energy regulation, calling for regulations that are appropriate for the size and nature of oil or gas operations. Under the Biden-Harris administration, he noted that the top-down methodology has not aligned with the realities on the ground.
“Over the past few years, we’ve endured a slew of regulations coming from the federal level,” Harvey explained. “These are then passed on to state governments, and only now are they starting to be applied to us. What we’re encountering is a framework of regulations that seem crafted for Big Oil companies engaged in unconventional, deep drilling. It appears those responsible for writing these regulations in D.C. have never visited our shallow, conventional operations. The wording doesn’t even correlate with what we’re doing here.”
US Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign event at Westover High School in Fayetteville, North Carolina, on July 18, 2024. (ALLISON JOYCE/AFP via Getty Images)
McCormick shared with Fox News that he visited Bull Run Energy to gain a deeper understanding of how small oil and gas operations function, ensuring he is well-prepared to advocate for Pennsylvania’s energy economy.
“I want to ensure I grasp all the issues tied to our energy economy,” McCormick stated. “As a senator, I aim to be a pro-energy senator and undertake all necessary actions to facilitate the development of our energy sector.”
Earlier this year, McCormick revealed his “Keystone Agenda,” which focuses on “unleashing Pennsylvania energy.” This policy platform proposes to eliminate Biden-era restrictions on gas and oil initiatives, endorse “all of the above” energy production, and utilize America’s natural resources to attain energy independence and bolster national security.
“Pennsylvania is endowed with the fourth largest natural gas reserves globally,” McCormick emphasized. “However, we struggle to access these resources and to make them available to consumers across the United States and worldwide. That’s crucial. The senator from Pennsylvania should advocate for these interests. Bob Casey has consistently been weak, favoring additional regulations and ultimately pushing to phase out fossil fuels. Such an approach is detrimental to Pennsylvanians and the nation as a whole.”
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In rebuttal, the Casey campaign reinforced the senator’s dedication to “responsible fracking” and his voting history opposing fracking bans.
Biden speaks at the COP26 climate summit. (Fox News)
“David McCormick is reaching for straws because the people of Pennsylvania have come to realize who he truly is — a hedge fund millionaire from Connecticut who has misrepresented his residency, supports a hazardous abortion ban, contributed to the strengthening of the Chinese military, and invested millions in China’s leading fentanyl producer,” a spokesperson for the Casey campaign provided to Fox News. “On the other hand, Bob Casey not only backs fracking but is also committed to working for the Commonwealth by holding greedy corporations accountable, reducing costs, and advocating for veterans and seniors.”
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“This race represents a contest between two fundamentally different worldviews and approaches towards leading our nation forward, how we can support an economy that serves working families, ensure border security, and solidify a robust energy sector that allows us to be an energy superpower,” McCormick told Fox News on Friday. “This is the distinction between the Biden-Harris-Casey alliance and the McCormick-Trump coalition at the top of the ticket. The choice is clear.”
