Thune stumps for Pennsylvania’s McCormick as part of August campaign blitz

LEBANON, Pennsylvania — Senate Minority Whip John Thune (R-SD) spent Monday stumping for Senate GOP hopeful Dave McCormick in his first big campaign swing of the August recess.

Speaking to the Washington Examiner following a moderated discussion on agriculture with McCormick, who is vying to unseat three-term Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA), Thune laid out the busy itinerary ahead now that the Senate is on break until the second week of September.

A big portion of that schedule entails fundraising for the GOP candidates hoping to join him in the Senate next year. He traveled to Minneapolis to raise money for Wisconsin’s Eric Hovde on Thursday night and has attended fundraising events as he makes his way through Pennsylvania.

Thune has also placed an emphasis on public shows of support for McCormick and other Republicans as he runs to replace Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) in the Senate. He and McCormick attended a meet-and-greet with manufacturing employees of Stephenson Equipment in Harrisburg earlier in the day and will host a roundtable with Jewish leaders in Philadelphia on Thursday morning.

“We’re covering the state, it’s been great,” he said before hopping back on McCormick’s campaign tour bus.

“I’m excited about the prospects for Pennsylvania and hope that, obviously, not only that President Trump pulls through here but that we get Dave McCormick in the United States Senate,” Thune added.

The events reflect a pivot to the November election. There are only a handful of weeks when the Senate will be in session between now and then, and leadership is using the time away from Washington to support both incumbents and those running in competitive races.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), Thune’s chief rival in the race for GOP leader, will be helping candidates with visits to states including Pennsylvania this summer, according to a source familiar with his schedule, as fundraising becomes a metric by which each is judged.

Cornyn’s political operation has raised almost $23 million for candidates this cycle as of July, according to the source. Thune has raised more than $19 million through June, the close of the second quarter.

“In addition to official events, Sen. Cornyn is spending the summer doing what he’s done for 15 years: crisscrossing Texas and the country to help his Republican colleagues and candidates, including President Trump,” a Cornyn spokesperson said in a statement.

Fundraising is foundational to the job of GOP leader, but the travel also gives Thune a chance to build rapport with the Republicans who could be members of his conference. Any challengers who are elected in November would get a vote on McConnell’s replacement.

Thune will head to New England following his stop in Philadelphia to raise money before returning to his home state of South Dakota for a few days. 

From there, he’s planning a campaign swing out West that includes stops with GOP nominee John Curtis in Utah and Sam Brown in Nevada. In Colorado, he will raise money for the National Republican Senatorial Committee. He also has plans with Wisconsin’s Hovde and Bernie Moreno of Ohio.

“We’re hitting all the spots,” Thune told the Washington Examiner.

His trip through rural Pennsylvania is geared toward shoring up the red counties in which Democrats made small but significant inroads during the 2022 elections. The moderated discussion focused heavily on dairy, with McCormick criticizing Casey for not co-sponsoring a bill to bring whole milk back into school lunch and breakfast programs.

The legislation is backed by Pennsylvania’s other Democratic senator, John Fetterman.

“I’ve done dozens of farm events because I want to make sure the ag community recognizes that I understand how important it is and that they need leadership,” McCormick told the Washington Examiner after the event.

Meanwhile, McCormick has visited Philadelphia multiple times to emphasize support for Israel and tie Democrats to crime.