In crusade for Senate, McCormick greets supporters at South Philly steak shop stop

What questions do you have about the 2024 elections? What major issues do you want candidates to address? Let us know.

On Wednesday, David McCormick, challenger of three-term Democratic Senator Bob Casey, visited Geno’s Steaks, the famous South 9th Street institution dating back to 1966.

The presumed Republican nominee left the warm confines of his tour bus and walked in the cold and rain, arriving to greet about three dozen supporters. He shook hands before making his way up the window where he ordered several steaks, which he shared with National Republican Senate Committee Chairman Steve Daines of Montana and former Senator Pat Toomey. The trio then made their way to a table inside.

After eating, McCormick and Daines then tried their hand at the grill, frying up steaks and onions which they placed into rolls. McCormick smiled and offered the freshly made steaks to the dozen journalists present, but there were no takers.

The Philly cheesesteak was invented in Philadelphia nearly 100 years ago when Pat Olivieri, a hot dog vendor, tried grilling up steak and putting it on a hot dog roll. The ensuing popularity of the new invention inspired him and his brother, Harry, to open Pat’s King of Steaks in 1930, a block from where McCormick made his stop.

Getting a cheesesteak is a ritual for candidates looking to get photo ops that they hope will lead to a win in Pennsylvania. Sometimes it doesn’t work out so well and a faux pas can lead to a statewide panning. That’s what happened  to Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts at Pat’s during his 2003 presidential bid. His crime against local cuisine:  He ordered Swiss cheese on his cheesesteak.

In his 2015 bid for the top office, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker made a few mistakes as well. He boldly attempted a double header at both Pat’s and Geno’s and was lambasted by locals for not ordering Cheez Whiz, leaving a mess, and for patronizing Geno’s which had a sign demanding that patrons “Speak English.”

Last year, Senate candidate Mehmet Oz went to Pat’s, and although he fared fine when it came to his cheese choices, Pat’s official Twitter account accused him of carpetbagging, tweeting “Do you even live in Pa? And can you spell the town you live in?”

McCormick seems to have survived without scandal and later took questions from the press on issues such as abortion and about running down the ballot from Donald Trump.

“I think President Trump’s going to get out folks in those Republican counties,” McCormick said. “He’s got a great turnout in the base. He’s proven that in [2016] and [2020], so I think he’s going to help me in that respect. And I think I can help him… So I think the two of us are very aligned.”

Billy Walker, president of the College Republicans at Temple University, showed up at Geno’s with a McCormick for Senate sign.

“As soon as we saw Dave, we knew he was a fighter,” he told WHYY News. “We have a lot of problems with Bob Casey and we think we need new leadership. He’s been in there for three or four terms and nothing’s changed.”