Governor of Pennsylvania. Josh Shapiro the US senator defended on Tuesday. Bob Caseyhis decision to move forward with a recount, pointing to the Republican Dave McCormickHis failed count in 2022, in a much closer election.

Shapiro has been under pressure from state and national Republicans to intervene in the recount, with GOP leaders asking Pennsylvania’s Democratic governor to tell Casey to concede and drop the effort, which is estimated. to cost more than $1 million to complete.

Shapiro has no official power to stop a recount because state law automatically triggers one if the margin is within 0.5 percent for a statewide race. Candidates can opt out of the recount if they feel it will not change the outcome of the results, Casey option refused to exercise last week.

“State law requires a recount if the election falls within a certain margin,” Shapiro said Tuesday at an unrelated news conference in Philadelphia. “It is up to the candidates to determine whether or not they want to opt out of this recount. Senator Casey chose not to.”

Shapiro also noted that McCormick did not opt ​​out of a recount “when he was a failed Senate candidate two years ago,” losing in 2022. Senate GOP Mehmet Oz’s primary by less than 1,000 votes.

Shapiro’s comments are likely to anger Republicans both state and national, who have already criticized Shapiro for not speaking out quickly enough against Democratic electoral commissions vote to count undated ballots against legal precedent and for not speaking out against Casey’s recount effort.

“The PA must not waste millions of tax dollars on a US Senate recount that will not change the outcome of Election Day,” said Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward (R., Westmoreland), the state’s top Republican. Senate, he wrote on X last week. “Protect our tax dollars and tell Senator Casey to stop. McCormick won.”

Casey leads McCormick by more than 17,000 votes, or 0.25 percent, as of Tuesday. Counties must begin recounts by Wednesday, but the result is unlikely to change.

“This will continue to happen and the most important thing is that the will of the people will be respected, that all votes are counted and ultimately a winner is determined based on the will of the people,” Shapiro added.

The Associated Press called the race for McCormick more than a week ago, and the Republican attended orientation for new senators last week.

Republicans have not previously expressed concern about the state’s automatic recount provision for statewide races. Former Commonwealth Court Judge Drew Crompton, a Republican, let the recount process take place in 2021 by a similar margin to Casey’s, though it did not change the results and ultimately lost to Judge Lori Dumas.

Mounting pressures

Shapiro, a potential presidential candidate in 2028, it was relatively tight because the counting process in the state came under national control.

He faced criticism from Republicans – from US Senator Tim Scott (R., SC) to Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley state legislators — for his delayed response to Democratic-controlled election committees in Philadelphia, Bucks and Montgomery counties defying the rulings of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and voted last week to count the undated ballots.

“The idea that our governor and former attorney general wouldn’t make a statement because the law is being defied because he’s a member of their own party is very disturbing and very disturbing to the voters and all of Pennsylvania and you have to stop because this election are over and there is no mathematical way to achieve what the Casey camp is hoping to achieve,” U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser (R., Pa.) said on a call with reporters Monday.

Shortly thereafter, Shapiro broke his silence on the issue after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued a ruling directly ordering counties not to count incomplete ballots. Shapiro criticized county officials for disregarding earlier court guidance, but also blamed the state Legislature for creating the situation by failing to update the state’s election law.

“Any insinuation that our laws can be ignored or don’t matter is irresponsible and damages faith in our election process,” Shapiro said. “It’s critical that counties and officials on both sides live up to it with both their rhetoric and their actions.”

Writer Julia Terruso contributed to this article.