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Robert Patrick Casey Jr. (born April 13, 1960) is an American lawyer and politician who is the senior United States senator from Pennsylvania, a seat he has held since 2007. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Casey, Jr. is the son of Bob Casey Sr., a former governor of Pennsylvania. Raised Catholic, he attended the College of the Holy Cross, later receiving his Juris Doctor from the Catholic University of America. He practiced law in Scranton before beginning his political career as Pennsylvania Auditor General, a post to which he was elected in 1996 and re-elected in 2000, holding the post until 2005. In 2002, Casey ran for governor of Pennsylvania, but was defeated in the Democratic primary by Ed Rendell. After being term-limited out of his position as auditor general, Casey ran for treasurer in the 2004 election which he used as a launching pad to campaign in the 2006 U.S. Senate election in Pennsylvania defeating Republican incumbent Rick Santorum. He was reelected in 2012 and in 2018, becoming the first Democrat in Pennsylvania to win a third consecutive term in the Senate. Casey is running for reelection to a fourth term in the Senate in 2024. He is the current dean of Pennsylvania's congressional delegation. Early life and education Casey was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, as one of eight children of Ellen (née Harding) and Bob Casey Sr., the 42nd governor of Pennsylvania. He is of Irish descent. Casey played basketball and graduated from Scranton Preparatory School in 1978. Following in his father's footsteps, he graduated from the College of the Holy Cross in 1982, and received a Juris Doctor from the Columbus School of Law at the Catholic University of America in 1988. Between college and law school, Casey served as a member of the Jesuit Volunteer Corps, and spent a year teaching 5th grade and coaching basketball at the Gesu School in inner-city Philadelphia. He practiced law in Scranton from 1991 until 1996. Early political career State auditor Casey ran for Pennsylvania State Auditor General in 1996, winning the Democratic nomination. He won the general election and was re-elected in 2000, serving for two terms, from 1997 to 2005. In a 2002 PoliticsPA feature story designating politicians with yearbook superlatives, he was named the "Most Likely to Succeed". 2002 gubernatorial election Casey attempted to follow in his father's footsteps by running for Pennsylvania Governor. Casey faced former Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell in the Democratic primary election. The Pennsylvania Democratic Party threw their support behind Casey, whom they saw as a more electable candidate than Rendell. In a bitter primary, Rendell won the nomination by winning only 10 out of 67 counties: Philadelphia and its suburbs (Bucks, Chester, Montgomery, and Delaware), its Lehigh Valley exurbs (Berks, Lehigh and Northampton), Lancaster County, and Centre County, the home of Penn State University. Rendell went on to win the general election. State treasurer In 2004, Casey, who was term limited in his Auditor General position, was elected State Treasurer. He served in this position from 2005 to 2007. U.S. Senate Elections 2006 In 2005, Casey received calls from U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY), the chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, as well as Senator Harry Reid (D-NV), the Senate Minority Leader. Both men asked him to run for U.S. Senate in 2006 against Republican incumbent Rick Santorum. On March 5, 2005, Casey launched his campaign for the Democratic nomination. Casey's run for the Senate was his fifth statewide campaign in nine years. Casey was almost immediately endorsed by Governor Ed Rendell, his primary election opponent from 2002. He was endorsed by two Democrats who had been mentioned as possible U.S. Senate nominees: former Congressman Joe Hoeffel, who had run against Pennsylvania's other Senator, Arlen Specter, in 2004, and former State Treasurer Barbara Hafer, whom many in the abortion rights movement had attempted to convince to run against Casey in the Democratic primary. Casey's more socially conservative views led to two challenges in the Democratic primary. His two challengers, college professor Chuck Pennacchio and pension lawyer Alan Sandals, argued that Casey's views on abortion and other social issues were too conservative for most Pennsylvania Democrats. Casey challenged this, arguing his opinions gave him cross-party appeal. He easily defeated both challengers in the May 16 primary receiving 85% of the vote. On election night, Casey won the race with 59% of the vote, compared to 41% for incumbent Senator Rick Santorum. Casey's margin of victory was the highest ever for a Democrat running for the United States Senate in Pennsylvania. Casey's 17.4-point victory margin was also the largest for a challenger to any incumbent Senator since James Abdnor unseated George McGovern by 18.8 points in 1980. 2012 Casey sought re-election in 2012. His re-election prospects were uncertain. Observers noted that as the election approached, Casey, an early supporter of Obama, had "started to oppose the president outright or developed more nuanced responses to events that differentiate him from Mr. Obama. Analysts say Mr. Casey wants to put some distance between himself and a president whose job approval ratings in Pennsylvania are poor". In December 2011, it was reported that the AFL–CIO would be spending "over $170,000" on pro-Casey TV ads. Casey easily defeated challenger Joseph Vodvarka in the spring Democratic primary, and faced former coal company owner and Republican nominee Tom Smith in the fall general election. He defeated Smith on November 6, 2012, 53.7% to 44.6%, to win a second term, making him the first Democrat elected to a second term in the Senate from Pennsylvania since Joseph S. Clark Jr.'s 1962 victory. 2018 Casey defeated his Republican challenger, U.S. Congressman and former Hazelton mayor Lou Barletta, by a 55.7% to 42.6% margin. The victory made Casey the first Democrat to be elected to a third term in state history, as well as the first to win six statewide elections generally. Tenure On March 28, 2008, Casey endorsed frontrunner Barack Obama in the Democratic Party presidential primary. The Pennsylvania Report said that he "struck gold" by endorsing Obama early in the 2008 Democratic presidential primary, a move that gave him "inside access to the halls of the White House". Casey campaigned across Pennsylvania in support of Obama's candidacy in the months leading up to the primary in that state; they bowled together at Pleasant Valley Lanes in Altoona. Casey has been described as an "even-keeled moderate, not only in tone but in policy", but after Donald Trump entered the White House in 2017, Casey developed a "new, saltier social media prowess". His outspoken opposition to many of Trump's actions prompted one local media outlet to describe his new strategy before his 2018 re-ele.... Discover the Alex R Casey popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Alex R Casey books.