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“Mark Harris, Mike DeVanney, and the whole ColdSpark team were invaluable in bringing us across the finish line. We would not have won in the key battleground of Pennsylvania without them. I’m incredibly grateful for their tireless dedication, unmatched expertise, tactical innovation, and commitment to victory.” — United States Senator Dave McCormick
ColdSpark was an integral part of Dave McCormick’s U.S. Senate campaign from start to finish. Partner Mike DeVanney recruited McCormick to run in 2022 and advised the campaign, while partner Mark Harris ran the super PAC. When Dave considered running again in 2024, ColdSpark was involved in every strategic decision.
ColdSpark served as the general consultant to the campaign, guiding everything from strategic messaging to advertising strategy to budgets and the final get-out-the-vote efforts. Thanks to Dave’s hard work, the campaign raised the funds needed to define McCormick early, using his wrestling and West Point background to build a compelling narrative. The team also ran an aggressive effort to talk to low-information voters and get them out to vote.
The Washington political class thought Senator Bob Casey was unbeatable. That was their first mistake. Their second was underestimating Dave McCormick and his team.
McCormick won with a 15,000-vote margin out of nearly 7 million votes cast. He shocked the political world and defeated the Bob Casey dynasty.
ColdSpark Services Provided: General consulting and mail
How Did We Win?
The Basics
- The candidate: Whether it was fundraising or grassroots campaigning, Dave McCormick was indefatigable. He left nothing on the table. He attended over 500 campaign stops in 2024, meeting thousands of Pennsylvanians. His tireless fundraising efforts meant the campaign could run paid media early.
- Avoid an ugly primary: We worked with the PAGOP and other political players to clear the field for Dave, allowing us to focus immediately on the general election and Bob Casey.
- Trump: This was a team effort with the Trump team. We knew Trump would turn out huge numbers in Pennsylvania’s Republican and rural areas, and we worked with his team to leverage Trump enthusiasm down the ballot.
- Invest in voter registration: Republicans suffer from a voter registration disadvantage in Pennsylvania. McCormick and his team invested early in a massive voter registration ground game to even the playing field. In 2020, Democrats had a 650,000+ voter registration advantage. Our efforts helped shrink that number below 300,000.
- Prioritize vote by mail: We launched a concerted effort with allies to increase mail-in voting with low-propensity voters. We saw an 18% increase in mail-in voting for Republicans and a 14% dip for Democrats in Pennsylvania.
The Message
- Define Dave early so Bob Casey couldn’t: The campaign told Dave’s story as a seventh generation Pennsylvanian, West Point graduate, combat veteran, and leader. Working with the media team at On Message, we shot the first and final ads at West Point, instilling the importance of “Duty, Honor, Country,” and Dave’s commitment to his service in voters’ minds. The campaign also released regular content on Dave’s deep Pennsylvania roots, including a three-minute video narrated by his parents.
- Focus on the real issues: The campaign refused to get distracted by shiny objects and side shows that didn’t move votes. Instead, we focused on key issues that matter most to Pennsylvanians, like unleashing Pennsylvania energy, combating inflation, McCormick also used specific proposals to help him stand out, like his plan to move the Department of Energy to Pittsburgh.
- Be thoughtful about complicated issues: The campaign spent a lot of time and research on how to handle sensitive issues like abortion. Dave’s thoughtful demeanor and his proposal for a $15,000 tax credit for IVF helped him close the polling gap with Case on abortion.
- Tie Casey to Harris: Early focus groups showed us that many key swing voters didn’t have strong feelings about Casey, and could be swayed with the right message. We redefined him as a weak, liberal, career politician who represented the failed status quo in Washington. And when Harris was chosen to replace Biden, we wasted no time in tying Casey to Harris, setting a standard for how Republicans campaigned against the changing Democrat ticket.
The Final Stretch
- Reach low-information voters: As we approached the post-Labor Day stretch, we needed to reach low-information Trump voters who didn’t consume traditional media. But there’s one thing these voters watch: Football. The media team aggressively bought as much football time as we could find from NFL games to high school football games on local TV in Pennsylvania’s most rural counties.
- Fight for every vote: The campaign set up focus groups to research the stubborn five percent of undecided voters. As a result, we doubled down on being the change candidate, which helped shape Dave’s closing West Point ad.
The Race is Over – But Not Really
Don’t let your guard down: Our final polling was Trump +3, McCormick +0.7. We knew it was going to be close, and we knew we had to be vigilant. On election night, McCormick was leading by a small but significant lead. We knew Casey didn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of overtaking Dave, but that didn’t stop Casey and Marc Elias from trying to steal the election. We launched an aggressive effort to defend our win and send Casey and Elias & Co. packing.
The Results
Dave McCormick’s 15,000-vote margin of victory out of 7 million votes is one for the ages. With a margin that close, every big and small decision truly mattered. McCormick’s disciplined, innovative, and strategic win created a blueprint for how Republicans can grow the party and win in the ultimate purple state.
