Sen. McCormick: Republicans Must Acknowledge Pressure From Fuel Prices While Making Their Economic Case
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2026/10/16/sen_mccormick_republicans_must_acknowledge_pressure_from_fuel_prices_while_making_their_economic_case.html

Sen. Dave McCormick (R-PA) told FOX News host Martha MacCallum that Republicans must maintain momentum in the closing weeks of the midterm campaign.

MARTHA MACCALLUM, FOX NEWS HOST: New York Congresswoman AOC stumping for progressive Abdul El-Sayed right now. We just showed you they're spending time together all day today in the state of Michigan when it comes to the battle for the Senate. The race there and four others are essentially tied within the margin of error.

But the economy could obviously -- is a huge issue here for this election, which is 19 days away. I said 20. We've got a whopping 74 percent who say the conditions, economic conditions in the country are not good, according to the new Fox News polling, and that obviously is a number that is going to weigh on a lot of candidates out there.

So, joining me now, Republican Senator Dave McCormick from Temple University in Philadelphia, he serves on the Joint Economic Committee and a lot of other very important Senate committees. Senator, it's always good to see you. Thank you very much for joining me today.

SEN. DAVE MCCORMICK (R-PA): Hey, Martha. How are you?

MACCALLUM: I'm doing great. Thank you.

You know, I thought of you, I remember covering your race and the other tight races at this time, end of October 2024. You were down by a couple of points, and you had made up a larger gap than that in the earlier polling and really just kept climbing up for the win there. So, when you look at these other races, these candidates call you, and I'm sure they do, what would be your advice to them in these closing weeks on your Republican side?

MCCORMICK: Well, you know, when I was campaigning, Mike Huckabee was with me, and he told me that there's only two ways to run, paranoid or unopposed. And so these races have to just be incredibly focused on closing strong. I was 12 points down 60 days out and, as you said, three or four points down at this point in the cycle.

It's not about the point in time, it's about the momentum. And our Republican candidates have a great message. We've made huge progress on the economy. We've got more money in the pockets of working families. We've stopped the flow of fentanyl. Deaths are down by 60 percent in Pennsylvania. We're energy dominant. Violent crime is at lows.

So, we've made progress, and people are still feeling the pressure from fuel prices. We have to acknowledge that, and we have a plan to continue to focus on that, including permitting reform. Then we have to make sure they understand the alternative. Elections are about choices, and the choice is a party that's lurching to the left with socialist policies that are anti-American, anti-law enforcement, anti-military, anti-business, anti-Semitic.

And that's the choice, and that's who the Democratic Party is becoming. And if there's a majority in the House or the Senate, those are the policies that'll prevail. So, that's the story we have to tell, and we have to keep on offense.

MACCALLUM: I'm curious what you think about this because you served in the war on terror. And when you hear these suggestions about Muslim Brotherhood ties, or you see the tweet from El-Sayed's half-sister, that she's talking to her mom about this, and then you hear this retort from the gentleman that I just spoke with in the panel, who basically says, well, the Muslim Brotherhood is the same sort of freedom group that wanted freedom in the Arab Spring.

Give me your sense of whether or not this matters as a valid question to be asking El-Sayed today.