Pennsylvania Senate hopeful in the GOP spotlight after witnessing Trump assassination attempt

Pennsylvania Republican Dave McCormick is set to take the stage at the Republican National Convention Tuesday night along with other Senate candidates. But his speech might sound a little different.

McCormick has updated his planned remarks to address Saturday’s attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, according to a source familiar with his speech. Unlike the other Senate hopefuls, McCormick witnessed the shooting firsthand.

Just three days ago, McCormick was seated in the front row of Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and took cover as the gunman opened fire.

“Lots of energy and lots of positive noise and then all of a sudden, just shattered with these rifle shots,” McCormick told NBC News Saturday night. “And it was just sort of — people were in disbelief. It was very chaotic and very confusing for quite some time.”

McCormick is in a hotly contested race against Democratic Sen. Bob Casey in a state that is key to both the race for the White House and the battle for the Senate. And while it’s yet not clear if or how Saturday’s shooting will affect elections this fall, any effects may be felt particularly strongly in Pennsylvania.

“I think because this incident occurred in Pennsylvania, you would imagine it’s going to have more of an impact in Pennsylvania than other places,” said Mike Barley, a former executive director of the state GOP.

The shooting did have a temporary impact on the Senate race: Casey’s campaign began working with local TV stations on Saturday evening to temporarily take down its ads. Campaign spokesperson Maddy McDaniel said in a statement that the ads will resume “in the days ahead to educate Pennsylvanians on Senator Casey’s record, his opponent’s record and the stakes of