What to know about Dave McCormick, Pennsylvania’s new senator

GOP Senator-elect Dave McCormick has toppled longtime Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey, bringing a new face to a seat the incumbent had occupied for nearly two decades.

But who is Pennsylvania’s freshman senator?

More: After 2 weeks, Sen. Bob Casey concedes defeat to Republican Dave McCormick amid recount

McCormick is an affluent finance executive who has never before held political office, though he did unsuccessfully run for a Senate seat in 2022.

The seventh-generation Pennsylvanian grew up mostly in Bloomsburg, where his father worked as president of the university. McCormick attended West Point, co-captaining the wrestling team there, and went on to spend several years in the U.S. Army, receiving a Bronze Star for his service during the first Gulf War.

From there, he earned a Princeton University doctorate in foreign policy and embarked on his business career, eventually becoming CEO of a Pittsburgh-based software company called FreeMarkets.

He also spent several years in former President George W. Bush’s administration, holding high-ranking positions in the National Security Council and U.S. Treasury Department.

McCormick then shifted back to the private sector and worked his way through the ranks at hedge fund giant Bridgewater Associates, where he ultimately took the helm as the firm’s CEO.

He stepped away from his post in 2022 to run for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Republican Pat Toomey, but he didn’t make it past the primary, losing narrowly to celebrity physician Mehmet Oz. The GOP nominee was later defeated in the general election by Democrat John Fetterman.

McCormick is married to Dina Powell McCormick, a former Goldman Sachs executive who also served as deputy national security advisor during Donald Trump’s first term as president. This is a second marriage for both McCormick and his wife, who have six daughters between them,

They live in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, although McCormick’s residency was a point of attack for Democrats during the campaign.

The Associated Press reported in mid-2023 that McCormick had sold his Connecticut home in the lead-up to his unsuccessful Senate campaign and was still renting a mansion there. His campaign this year said he no longer owned or rented property in Connecticut.

Bethany Rodgers is a USA TODAY Network Pennsylvania capital bureau investigative journalist.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Dave McCormick is Pa’s new senator. What to know about his background.

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