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Taking the stage during the first night of the Republican Party's midterm convention, U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pa., made the case that President Donald Trump and the GOP have delivered for Americans.
"Washington elites sacrificed working families on the altar of cheaper goods and higher profits, and they decided that America could stop making things, and they left us dangerously dependent on China," McCormick said. "And America said no more."
"We rejected decline, and America elected President Trump and Republican majorities, and we have delivered," he added.
McCormick, the state's junior senator, was elected to office in 2024 after defeating three-term incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Casey by a narrow margin of roughly 15,000 votes. At the top of the ticket that same year, Trump won Pennsylvania's 19 electoral votes by defeating Vice President Kamala Harris on his path to winning a second term in office.
"We are confronting China. We’re unleashing American energy. We’re rebuilding our defense industry, and we’re creating tomorrow’s technology," McCormick said during Wednesday evening's address in Dallas, Texas. "There is no doubt. There is no doubt that the Republican Party is the party of the American worker."
Throughout the 2024 campaign, McCormick campaigned alongside Trump and took jabs at President Joe Biden's policies. On Wednesday evening, McCormick echoed similar themes and criticized Biden for his decision to block a proposed deal for Japanese-owned Nippon Steel to buy Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel.
Trump also opposed the acquisition and vowed to block the deal in late 2024, instead wanting to use tax incentives and tariffs to boost U.S. Steel.
In May 2025, however, Trump reversed course and approved the sale to Nippon after the foreign manufacturer said it would invest more in the United States.
"This will be a planned partnership between United States Steel and Nippon Steel, which will create at least 70,000 jobs and add $14 Billion Dollars to the U.S. Economy," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "The bulk of the investment will occur in the next 14 months."
McCormick lauded Trump's leadership to secure the deal and described it as "one of my most rewarding moments" when Jason Zugai, vice president of United Steel Workers Local 2227, said those Pennsylvania jobs would not have been saved without the president and his efforts.
McCormick, too, sided with Biden against the deal before winning his seat in 2024.
Zugai and other Pennsylvania workers, including a coal mine shift supervisor, a heavy equipment operator, a natural gas production foreman, and a pair of workers at the Philadelphia shipyard, joined McCormick on stage towards the end of his roughly 10-minute speech.
McCormick argued that they were examples of the Republican Party's policies at work in the Keystone State and beyond.
"American workers, American working families, this is the Republican Party," McCormick said to USA chants from the crowd. "The choice is clear: Will we dream heroic dreams and build a better future, or will we surrender to socialism, defeatism, anti-Americanism?"
"I refuse to surrender. President Trump refuses to surrender," he added. "This November, there can be no surrender. Ladies and gentlemen, let’s build an America worthy of our heroic dreams."
McCormick also specifically cited drug manufacturing in the Lehigh Valley, Hanwha investing in the Philadelphia shipyard, and investments into energy, AI, and defense as proof that jobs were being created in Pennsylvania. He also touted GOP-passed legislation that made overtime and tips tax-free, while also arguing that the administration is cutting red tape and empowering small businesses.
The speech comes just two months before the midterm election, which will determine which party controls both chambers in 2027.
While McCormick touted the Republican Party’s agenda, polling shows that Trump and Republicans are currently unpopular in Pennsylvania.
According to a Franklin & Marshall College poll in August, voters say the economy (31%) is the most important problem facing the state. Among those who mention economic problems, Democrats lead Republicans as the party that can best handle the issue (47% to 23%), which is a larger advantage for Democrats than F&M's June poll, (42% to 24%).
The economy is the top concern of every partisan group, in that August poll, showing that nearly half (44%) of respondents say they are "worse off" financially than a year ago.
Twenty-seven percent said that Trump is doing an "excellent" or "good" job as president, while 73% believe he is doing a "fair" or "poor" job.
Although polling has consistently shown Trump's approval rating underwater in Pennsylvania, McCormick has maintained more favorable ratings.
A New York Times/Philadelphia Inquirer/Siena poll conducted in Pennsylvania last month showed that 39% have a favorable opinion of McCormick, while 30% have an unfavorable view of the GOP senator. However, 20% responded that they either didn't know or refused to answer when asked about their view of McCormick, while another 10% said they have not heard of him.
Prior to McCormick taking the stage, U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, a Democrat, delivered a video message for the GOP convention, lauding his relationship with his GOP colleague.
"Dave McCormick is the kind of senator that gets the job done, and he’s going to fight for Pennsylvania," Fetterman said in the video.
Fetterman's appearance, along with McCormick and other battleground Republicans running for the U.S. House, has received pushback from Democrats in Pennsylvania.
“Donald Trump's chaos and higher costs are hurting the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania - so Pennsylvania Democrats are focused on one thing only: winning up and down the ballot this November," Pennsylvania Democratic Party Chairman Eugene DePasquale wrote on Wednesday evening. "We aren’t going to be distracted by GOP stunts like this video or a weak midterm convention held by a party that’s entirely dedicated to enabling Trump’s ego and defending his disastrous agenda while Pennsylvanians pay the price."
"The reality is clear: Donald Trump and his enablers are raising costs, slashing healthcare, attacking our freedoms, and making life worse for Pennsylvania families," he continued. "We are fighting to beat them - and that will remain our entire focus as we work to turn out every voter and deliver a resounding victory across the Commonwealth this November.”
McCormick also spoke about his military service in the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division and how his unit was united despite coming from different backgrounds and regions of the country.
He did not reference the Iran War during his speech on Wednesday evening.
McCormick and Trump won't be on the ballot this November, although the president told attendees on Wednesday evening to treat the election as if he were in an effort to promote Republican candidates on the ballot in the fall.
McCormick's seat isn't up for reelection until 2030, but at least one Republican thinks he could be a candidate for a different office before then.
U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, a Republican from Ohio, told the Washington Examiner on Wednesday evening that he thinks McCormick could be a "good person" to run for the GOP presidential nomination in 2028.
Gov. Josh Shapiro has also been mentioned as a potential candidate for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination in 2028. Shapiro spent Wednesday evening in Philadelphia alongside Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, a Republican, for an event discussing the First Amendment and pushing back on political violence.