Trump-endorsed Republican Senate hopeful David McCormick is set on taking out Democrat Bob Casey in Pennsylvania and isn't shying away from the hard work ahead

David McCormick officially clinched the Republican nomination this week in the Pennsylvania Senate race, but now he has the real work cut out for him.

McCormick is looking to unseat Democratic Senator Bob Casey in the critical battleground states which is crucial not just for Republicans looking to reclaim the Senate majority but also the White House come November.

'We're in deep trouble as a country economically, militarily, national security wise and even spiritually and we need new leadership. Bob Casey is the status quo,' McCormick told DailyMail.com in a phone interview from his campaign bus following the state's primary.

McCormick ran in the Republican Senate primary uncontested, but it may feel to voters like he's been on the campaign trail in Pennsylvania much longer.

Dave McCormick with wife Dina Powell after remarks at his election night watch party on April 23. McCormick was uncontested in the GOP primary. It is his second Senate bid

McCormick greeting supporters on primary night. He is the former CEO of one of the world's biggest hedge funds Bridgewater Associates and previously served in the George W Bush administration 

The former hedge fund CEO and Bush administration official ran for the United States Senate in the 2022 midterms only to lose the primary to Trump-backed Mehmet Oz by less than 1,000 votes.

This cycle, Donald Trump is backing McCormick, and both men are on the Pennsylvania ballot this fall.

'I think President Trump at the top of the ticket will really, as he has in the past, help turn out the vote,' McCormick told DailyMail.com.

After backing his opponent last cycle, Trump officially endorsed McCormick at a rally in Schnecksville, Pennsylvania, earlier this month. 

On Tuesday, the  ex-president gave McCormick a shoutout by name in the hallway of the Manhattan criminal court where he is standing trial in relation to hush money payments and urged Pennsylvanians to vote in the state's primary.

McCormick thanked him in a post on X, but the two have not appeared together on the campaign trail to date. But McCormick expects that to change.

'I'm sure that President Trump and I will overlap on the campaign trail,' McCormick told DailyMail.com. 'He's going to spend a lot of time in Pennsylvania and our interests are very aligned.'

'With that said, you know, I'm my own person. I'm going to run my own campaign. I'm running for the Senate,' he added.

Former President Trump endorsed McCormick at a rally in Schnecksville, PA on April 13. McCormick had a family obligation and was not at his rally. He told DailyMail.com he believes his path with Trump will cross at the campaign heats up

It comes as more than 156,000 voters in the Republican primary cast ballots on Tuesday for Nikki Haley over Trump on Tuesday, six weeks after she exited the presidential race, signaling the ex-president has work to do to consolidate his own base in the Keystone State. 

But McCormick does not see that as an issue for his campaign.

'I think what's most notable about my campaign is how united it is,' McCormick said.

'I got the party's nomination six months ago, the entire Congressional delegation has endorsed me many months ago. It's everybody from Scott Perry, who is the former chairman of the Freedom Caucus to Brian Fitzpatrick, who is the co-chair of the problem solvers caucus,' he added.

McCormick meeting with supporters ahead of the Pennsylvania Senate primary on April 23

McCormick claimed Republicans have their difference but they're 'modest in comparison to the profound difference we have with the Democratic party and particularly the progressive wing of the part that's pulling it to the left.'

But when it comes to the Senate, Republicans appeared to be less unified in the most recent vote - the $95 billion package for foreign aid to Ukraine Israel and Taiwan.

The legislation passed on Tuesday night 79 to 18. All but two Democrats in the Senate voted for it while 31 Republicans voted for it and 15 voted against it.

'In the end, I'm not sure how I would have voted,' McCormick revealed to DailyMail.com. 'I would have fought very hard to try to not have that be the package.'

McCormick has been very supportive of Israel and maintains he is a 'strong voice on the need to support Ukraine.'

'I was disappointed, frankly, with the legislation. I was disappointed because it appeared to include about $10 billion of non-military aid, I wouldn't have supported that,' McCormick said. 'It didn't include offsets for the incremental spending.' 

McCormick also called the protests taking place on college campuses across the country 'disgraceful.'

'I think these kids are turned around in terms of clarity on what's right and wrong and the difference between good and evil,' he said. 'I think it's a failure, and you see it clearly, the failure of leaders in our universities and across the country to show moral clarity and leadership in dealing with these circumstances.'

He also said it is 'indicative of a spiritual decline in the country.'

Sen. Bob Casey speaking in Washington on April 10, 2024. The RealClearPolitics average of Pennsylvania Senate polls shows him leading McCormick by more than 5 points in the swing state. Casey has served in the Senate since 2007

McCormick accused his opponent Casey for voting '98 percent of the time with Biden' and  supporting policies that have led to inflation, the border crisis, crime and the 'war on energy.'

But with roughly six months to go before the election, the latest Franklin & Marshall poll from early April shows Casey leading McCormick by seven points in the state 46 percent to 39 percent.

On primary day Casey, who has also been crisscrossing the state this week posted on X: 'There are 196 days until the general election, and we’re going to win.' 

But McCormick said he is working on building the coalition needed to win.

'This is a huge state and there's a lot of rural areas which are predominantly Republican, and the key is to spend lots of time there,' McCormick said.

 'And then there is obviously the suburban areas and the urban areas that are more on the fence, and so the focus there is building a coalition of key constituents of Independents and conservative Democrats and other parts of the electorate,' he continued.