Robert P. Casey, Jr.
Democrat
What is one life experience you have that voters should know about?
After I graduated from college, I spent a year as a member of the Jesuit Volunteer Corps teaching at the Gesu School at 17th and Thompson in North Philadelphia. I spent the year teaching 5th grade and coaching 8th grade basketball. By working closely in the community, I saw firsthand their needs, joys, and hardships. Ultimately, my experience grounded my beliefs that every child deserves access to a quality education and the opportunity to reach their full potential.
What sets you apart from other candidates?
“All public service is a trust, given in faith and accepted in honor.” Those are the words inscribed on the Finance Building in Harrisburg where I started my work in public service, and the words that still guide me today. I bring the Pennsylvania values of hard work and perseverance to my service in the U.S. Senate, where I’m fighting to protect our rights, including voting rights, women’s rights, and workers’ rights. I work every day to lower costs for working families, and combat the fentanyl epidemic that is devastating Pennsylvania communities. Throughout my time in the Senate, I have been dedicated to fighting for the most vulnerable among us, including our seniors, children, veterans, and people with disabilities.
How do you plan to work across ideological lines to achieve shared goals?
In my time in the Senate, I have prioritized bipartisanship to get things done for Pennsylvanians. In the last Congress, I wrote and passed the 6th most laws in the Senate, got bicameral support on the 7th most bills, and got bipartisan cosponsors on the 13th most bills compared to all Senators. I have worked with presidents of both parties to deliver for Pennsylvania, promote ethics and accountability, and stand up to China.
I worked closely with my former colleague, Republican Senator Pat Toomey, to advance important priorities, including a groundbreaking investigation that exposed underperforming nursing homes, passing the Combat Online Predators Act into law to increase sentences on stalkers whose victims are minors, proposing the Honoring Purple Heart Recipients Act to require the Department of Defense to honor certain Purple Heart recipients online, and confirming the third-highest number of federal judges in the last decade of any state.
Since the Norfolk Southern derailment, I have worked across the aisle to back bipartisan legislation making rail companies more accountable for ensuring rail safety by ensuring brake signals and communication systems would not fail.
What would be your top three policy priorities in office?
I am working to lower costs and continue to deliver for Pennsylvania working families by holding big corporations accountable for greedflation, fighting for the right to organize a union, and advocating for a tax bill that gives the middle class a tax cut.
I am a leading advocate in the Senate to combat the fentanyl epidemic, and will keep fighting to advance my Stop Fentanyl at the Border Act to cut off fentanyl trafficking.
I’m fighting to protect our rights, from supporting women’s rights by supporting the Women’s Health Protection Act and protecting access to IVF and contraception, to protecting our voting rights and workers’ rights.
The Committee of Seventy has partnered with the Carter Center to promote the Candidate Principles for Trusted Elections (www.principledcandidates.org) to improve the voting process, encourage honest leadership, and promote civic engagement. Do you support the Candidate Principles?
Fair and free elections are critical to our democracy and political violence is never acceptable. As we face unprecedented attacks on our democracy, I am fighting in Washington to protect our democracy and ensure faith in our elections. Peaceful transfers of power are the cornerstone of our democracy and I will always stand against efforts to undermine confidence in our elections.
