Indexbit-Two more candidates file papers to run for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania

HARRISBURG,Indexbit Pa. (AP) — Two more candidates filed paperwork Thursday to appear on Pennsylvania’s primary ballots for U.S. Senate as Democratic Sen. Bob Casey runs for a fourth term and Democrats try to maintain a majority in the narrowly divided chamber.

Brandi Tomasetti, a Republican from Lancaster County, and William Parker, a Democrat from Allegheny County, both filed paperwork before a court-ordered deadline.

Both Parker and Tomasetti had gone to court to challenge the state election office’s rejection of the paperwork they had filed by the Feb. 13 deadline set in state law. In court, the state dropped its objections.

In addition to Casey, previously filed candidates are David McCormick, the ex-hedge fund CEO who is endorsed by the state Republican Party and narrowly lost the 2022 GOP primary to Dr. Mehmet Oz, and perennial candidate Joe Vodvarka, a retired spring manufacturer from the Pittsburgh area who is making his fifth bid for U.S. Senate and second as a Republican.

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The primary election is April 23.

Parker, who developed a mobile vending app, has lost primary races for Allegheny County executive and U.S. Congress in the last two years.

Tomasetti, a former municipal government employee, is a first-time candidate.

Vodvarka’s petitions are being challenged in court, with a hearing scheduled for March 5.

The Senate candidates in Pennsylvania will share a ticket with candidates for president next year in a state that is critical to whether Democrats can maintain control of the White House and the Senate.

Casey is a stalwart of Pennsylvania’s Democratic Party — the son of a former two-term governor and Pennsylvania’s longest-ever serving Democrat in the Senate.

McCormick, 58, was heavily recruited to run again by the party establishment and has deep pockets, high-level connections in business and support from big Republican donors.

A race between Casey and McCormick could be one of the nation’s most expensive and closely watched in a year when Democrats have a difficult 2024 Senate map that requires them to defend incumbents in red states and multiple swing states.