Longtime Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. Bob Casey’s office has remained silent on whether the powerful Keystone State lawmaker still endorses freshman Squad member Rep. Summer Lee in light of backlash over her rhetoric on Israel.
Pennsylvania will again serve as a key battleground state this election cycle as former President Donald Trump and President Biden are anticipated to face a rematch in a state that narrowly voted for Trump in 2016, and elected Biden in 2020 at a 1.17% margin.
Casey is also anticipated to have a difficult election campaign this year as he defends his seat for the fourth time. His lack of response on whether he endorses the left-wing congresswoman and Squad member could mean a deepening divide between progressive Democrats and their more moderate counterparts over stances on the war in Israel.
Last week, a news report surfaced detailing that Lee, who was first elected to represent Pennsylvania’s 12th congressional district in 2022, removed Casey’s name from a section on her campaign website that communicates to super PACs and other outside political groups that they could include his endorsement in political ads. The section of the website is known as a “red box,” and is used by political candidates to work around rules prohibiting political groups from directly coordinating with a campaign.
Jewish Insider reported last week that as recently as March 7, Casey’s name was included within the “red box” section on Rep. Lee’s campaign site, but has since been removed and replaced with Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’ name and endorsement.
“In her first year in office, Congresswoman Summer Lee has worked with the Biden Administration to deliver $1.2 billion dollars in investments to Allegheny and Westmoreland counties to improve transportation, create green jobs, clean our air and water, and expand affordable housing. That’s why she’s endorsed by the Democratic Party, Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Pennsylvania AFL-CIO State Labor Council, SEIU and Planned Parenthood,” a section of the red box on the campaign website reads as of March 19.
Lee’s district is located in southwestern Pennsylvania, and includes Pittsburgh and much of Allegheny County. Pittsburgh is home to a large Jewish community, and where the 2018 mass shooting at the synagogue Tree of Life killed 11 people and wounded six others during Shabbat morning services.
Lee has come under fire in recent months from pro-Israel groups and the Jewish community for her rhetoric on the war in Israel, including an open letter signed by dozens of rabbis condemning Lee for her “divisive rhetoric” they said has been “perceived as openly antisemitic.”
The March letter was also signed by a handful of rabbis in Lee’s neighboring district, which is represented by Democratic Congressman Chris Deluzio.
Previous media reports detailed that powerful pro-Israel lobbying group, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, had worked to recruit a candidate to challenge Lee this election cycle over her Israel stance, after spending $5 million against her campaign in 2022, the Intercept reported. Shortly following the outbreak of war in Gaza, Lee joined fellow left-wing lawmakers in calling for a ceasefire in October, while President Biden and other Democrats pledged support to Israel as it battled Hamas.
In January, AIPAC tweeted a message that tagged Lee, fellow Squad members Reps. Jamaal Bowman and Cori Bush and others, stating “a Ceasefire Now keeps these monsters armed and in power.”
That same month, three top House Democrats – Jeffries, Whip Katherine Clark and Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar – endorsed Lee’s re-election.
The removal of Casey’s name from the “red box” page on Lee’s campaign website could outline a growing divide within the Democratic Party amid the war in Israel.
Casey has long been a Pennsylvania Democratic stalwart, first winning his election to the U.S. Senate in 2007. This year, Casey is facing an anticipated closely-watched and uphill battle to hold onto his seat – which the longtime senator even conceded in an interview with NBC News last month.
Casey is expected to face off against Republican Dave McCormick following the state’s primaries. McCormick is an Army combat veteran and former CEO of hedge fund Bridgewater Associates, who served as the Commerce Department’s Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security as well as Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs under former President George W. Bush’s administration.
McCormick last month called for Lee’s “immediate resignation” while trying to rally Casey to join him in the demand in a video posted to X. The video message came in response to outrage over Lee agreeing to appear as a speaker for a fundraiser hosted by the Philadelphia chapter of Muslim advocacy group, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).
Lee ultimately canceled her appearance, following backlash, saying the cancelation was intended “to prevent the Muslim community from being the target of any more politically motivated Islamophobia and to ensure my Jewish and LGBTQ+ constituents know their concerns are heard.”
McCormick has long been calling out Lee’s rhetoric on Israel, including right after the war began in October, when Lee claimed Israel bombed a hospital in Gaza – which was a narrative promoted by outlets such as the New York Times in October, before the Times backtracked and said it “relied too heavily on claims by Hamas.”
A recent Emerson College Polling/The Hill survey found McCormick is closing in on Casey, at 41% support to Casey’s 45%. The same poll found Trump has 47% of Pennsylvania voters compared to Biden’s 43%.
Casey came under fire from police groups this week, when a pro-defund the police group, Indivisible Philadelphia endorsed the Senator. Folcroft Deputy Police Chief and Delaware County FOP Lodge 27 President Chris Eiserman held a press conference on Wednesday, where he slammed Casey for aligning himself with the progressive group, while pledging his support for McCormick in the election.
The More than 40 rabbis and Jewish leaders in the Pittsburgh area who published the open letter this month condemned Lee for what they said was her failing to come through on a promise to “call out antisemitism and temper your own language.”
Lee is facing a Democratic challenger in the primary, which will be held on April 23, before the general election on Nov. 5.
