Pennsylvania Senate candidate Dave McCormick meets with IDF officials in Israel

Dave McCormick, a Republican seeking to challenge Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) in November, met with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in Israel on Tuesday.

Axios reporter Barak Ravid posted photos of McCormick’s trip on X, the social platform formerly known as Twitter.

“Today he met w/ IDF officials at Kfar Azza. He will meet military leaders, government officials & hostage families. Source says he is there to show his solidarity & understand situation from the ground,” Ravid reported.

McCormick is the odds-on favorite to be the GOP nominee against Casey in a state won by former President Trump in the 2016 election. President Biden then defeated Trump in 2020 in the Keystone State.

The race is one of several in which Democrats are counting on incumbents to beat back GOP rivals for the party to retain its Senate majority.

Ravid also reported that McCormick’s wife Dina Powell, who served as deputy national security adviser in the Trump administration, joined her husband on the trip overseas.

A spokesperson for McCormick declined to comment when reached by The Hill about the trip.

McCormick, 58, lost the 2022 GOP senatorial primary to television celebrity Dr. Mehmet Oz. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) went on to win the general election against Oz, flipping a crucial swing state seat in favor of Democrats to maintain the party’s hold over the upper chamber’s leadership.

McCormick announced in September that he would launch a challenge to Casey, 63, who has been in the Senate since 2007.