But the two men met in-person in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on Thursday for the first of their two debates before November’s election, a high-stakes moment for their respective campaigns in a race that will help decide the Senate majority.

Here are the Washington Examiner‘s takeaways from their hourlong debate:

Immigration is the wedge issue in the race

While the economy weighs heavily on the mind of voters, the issue of immigration has emerged as the wedge issue in the Casey-McCormick race.

Casey, who was first elected to the Senate in 2006, repeated Democratic talking points about former President Donald Trump pressuring congressional Republicans not to support a bipartisan border security bill in the spring because he wanted a campaign issue.

“I looked at that border bill. It’s a bad bill. It’s not a border security bill. It’s an amnesty bill,” McCormick said when pressed on that and Trump’s promise to conduct a mass deportation of illegal immigrants.

McCormick, who delivered a high-energy performance, was also pushed on investments Bridgewater Associates made when he was CEO from 2017 to 2022 in a Chinese company that produced fentanyl.

“The great irony of this is we invested at Bridgewater in many companies that were legally approved by the United States government,” he said.

The debate underscores conversations the Washington Examiner has had with voters and campaign operatives in Pennsylvania.

“Immigration is one of the big ones and it blows my mind because it’s really not as bad as they think it is,” Harris campaign volunteer Rich Forsman said this week after Gov. Tim Walz‘s (D-MN) first post-debate rally in York, Pennsylvania.

“My brother-in-law recently is for Trump and talked about immigration and taxes,” Heather, a 54-year-old stay-at-home mom who preferred not to share her last name, added. “Those are the least of my worries. Democracy is the biggest thing.”

Conflict in the Middle East has cast a shadow over the race

Like the vice presidential debate this week, the first question of the Casey-McCormick match was about the prospect of war in the Middle East.

Casey, who tried to portray himself as the elder statesman, used his opening statement to wish Pennsylvania’s Jewish community a happy rosh hashanah and avoid a question about whether there was a red line Israel could cross for him to withdraw his support, adding he would not choose to deploy U.S. troops on the ground without a declaration of war from Congress.

“They know my record, and I think they also know that my opponent’s record is one of lifting up adversaries. As a hedge fund manager, he was managing money for President Xi of China, investing in China,” the senator said of McCormick.

McCormick, a George W. Bush administration alumnus, returned the criticism, scrutinizing Casey for his support of former President Barack Obama‘s Iran nuclear deal, describing it as the “original sin.”

“He’s starting to put red lines in place on what Israel should or should not do,” he said of Democratic opposition to Israel striking Iran’s nuclear facilities. “We need to stand steadfast with Israel.”

Casey thinks he can make McCormick’s residency and business record a problem

Casey tried to undermine McCormick as untrustworthy by reiterating that the veteran and former McKinsey and Co. consultant lives in Westport, Connecticut and not Pittsburgh. McCormick’s residency has been in Pennsylvania since 2021, before he first ran for the Senate in 2022. McCormick lost that Republican primary to Dr. Mehmet Oz, another alleged carpetbagger, who in turn lost the general election to Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA).

“I’m a seventh generation Pennsylvania. I grew up in Bloomsburg, was born in Washington County. I went away to West Point, served in the military for nine years, came back to Pittsburgh, created thousands of jobs, or helped create thousands of jobs, as one of many people and a team,” McCormick said. “So, listen, I spent the majority of my life in Pennsylvania.”

In response to Casey’s criticism over McCormick’s time at Bridgewater, the businessman countered that the senator approved of the hedge fund when he was Pennsylvania’s treasurer.

“You should ask yourself, why is a senator with an 18-year-track record, who should be able to run on his record, is running his entire campaign with a negative set of attacks on me, most of them lies?” he asked.

Casey and McCormick have complicated relationships with the top of their tickets

Casey and McCormick have tried to have it both ways with Vice President Kamala Harris and Trump at the top of the ticket, embracing them at times and distancing themselves at others.

McCormick was praised by Republicans in July after Democrats dumped President Joe Biden as their 2024 nominee and the McCormick campaign produced a viral video in which it pinned Casey to Harris and her past liberal positions, using the senator’s own descriptions of her as “inspiring and very capable.”

“It’s laughable when he talks about independence. This is a man who’s voted 99% of the time with Biden and Harris,” he said.

Meanwhile, Casey has attempted to tie McCormick to Trump, with his wife Dina Powell, the former president’s deputy national security adviser for strategy, and McCormick being considered for roles in his Pentagon.

“I’ve shown myself to be independent from President Trump and anybody else,” McCormick said. “I am my own man.”

Casey’s incumbency is working for and against him

Similar to the Senate races in Nevada and Wisconsin, Casey, whose father was governor of Pennsylvania, appears to be empowered by his incumbency, polling ahead of Biden and now Harris. Trump has an average 3 percentage point lead over Harris in Pennsylvania, according to RealClearPolitics, while Casey leads McCormick by an average of 4 points.

When asked whether Biden or Harris was better for Pennsylvania, Casey demurred, contending the country “would never know.”

“I think she’ll carry Pennsylvania, it will be very close, just like this Senate race will be close, but she’s running a strong campaign,” Casey said.

Simultaneously, McCormick tried to use Casey’s incumbency against him, accusing the “career politician” of not doing anything for Pennsylvania except during election years.

“Bob pops his head up every six years and tries to act like he’s doing things, all these, this activity,” he said. “That’s what we have in this senator, a guy who keeps his head down, pops it up for political benefit, and gets nothing done.”

The issues of economy, energy, and abortion are also at play

The economy is on the minds of voters and the issue was not dismissed during the debate, with Casey needled about Harris’s new policy proposals, including the first federal ban on price gouging.

“It’s not price controls. It’s investigating companies that are engaged in price gouging. You have to go into court and prove it,” he said.

Among McCormick’s harshest criticisms of Casey regarded his energy policies and fracking, arguing Democratic positions have made the country more dependent on China.

“I’m an environmentalist. I’m a conservationist. I also want great jobs for Pennsylvania, and I want to be secure,” he said. “I can’t think of a more stupid set of policies.”

But the pair adopted similar stances related to Japanese-owned Nippon Steel’s possible purchase of U.S. Steel, a decision that Biden will not have to make until after the election.

“My concern about Nippon is it’s a foreign, it’d be a foreign-owned steel company buying the iconic U.S. Steel business and putting at risk of those union steel worker jobs,” Casey said. “We cannot lose those jobs.”

McCormick again cited national security concerns, despite Japan being an ally, agreeing that the federal government has “to intervene.”