Dave McCormick’s Message to Young Voters in Pennsylvania

Dave McCormick is a combat veteran, West Point graduate, and former CEO of Bridgewater Associates. He held prominent roles in the US Treasury during the George W. Bush administration, ran in the 2022 US Senate race in Pennsylvania, and is running again this year.

This interview was edited for clarity.*

Ari: How's everything going?

Dave: It's going pretty well. We've got less than 40 days. It feels like everything has led up to this moment, and we're in striking distance. We've got good momentum. Now, we just need to close.

Ari: A couple of questions for you: This cycle, there's a lot of focus on independent voters. Some may have been convinced to vote for Trump if they didn’t last time, but they haven't been convinced yet to vote down-ballot. What would you say to them?

Dave: Two things. First, do they feel like they're better off than they were three or four years ago? Economically, we have sky-high inflation hurting working families. 60 percent of Pennsylvanians live paycheck to paycheck. Interest rates make it almost impossible for many to buy a new home. The American Dream is slipping away.

This is the result of Biden-Harris' policies, but also Bob Casey, who votes 98 percent of the time for them. Wide open borders are putting a huge burden on Pennsylvania — 11 sanctuary counties or cities, and the fentanyl crisis is killing 4,000 Pennsylvanians a year. These aren't Democrat, Republican, or independent issues — these are issues that affect all Pennsylvanians.

My opponent has been weak and extremely liberal by supporting policies that brought us to this moment. So, if people like the status quo, they should stick with Bob Casey. But if they want change and to move the country in the right direction, I’d be honored to get their vote.

Ari: A question about the working class in Pennsylvania. One of the fastest-growing industries is massive warehouses, which employ more and more Pennsylvanians. What’s your vision for the working class there? How do you feel about that industry and its growth?

Dave: Pennsylvania is uniquely positioned for big tech companies, not just for warehousing but for big data centers. We have incredible energy abundance, and energy demand is rising because of big data.

Pennsylvania has the energy to support huge data centers, which create great jobs. I've visited several data centers. These are good jobs for young people in the tech and data industries.

Pennsylvania is also within 500 miles of 65 percent of the US population, so we’re perfectly located. The combination of our skilled workforce, energy abundance, and location should make Pennsylvania a prime spot for job growth.

An example of this is the Constellation Energy deal with Microsoft. That’s incredible. That’s exactly the kind of opportunity Pennsylvania should be seizing. We need leadership to set that vision. Bob Casey hasn’t done that. He’s been a foe to our energy industry and hasn’t been a productive leader in bringing industry back to Pennsylvania.

Ari: Are there any states you think have done a really good job with this that you'd want to emulate?

Dave: In the energy space, Oklahoma is a great example. Their cities, like Oklahoma City and Tulsa, are thriving because they've embraced their energy future — and that energy future is great economically. It's great for our national security to be an energy exporter and energy dominant, but it's also great for the environment because clean natural gas is a source of clean energy that we can export around the world.

Texas is another example — they’ve embraced their energy future. And look at what’s happening next door in Ohio — now, I don’t want to put it on too much of a pedestal — but especially with Columbus’ focus on semiconductors. That should have been Pennsylvania if we had a senator with strength and resources, we’d have those resources coming to Pennsylvania.

We have an attractive workforce, along with great universities like Carnegie Mellon and Penn State. Those tech hubs should have been in Pennsylvania.

When I was CEO of Free Markets in Pittsburgh, we worked to make it a tech hub because of Carnegie Mellon and the University of Pittsburgh, and so forth. Ohio has succeeded in the Columbus area, and we’ve failed. I think Bob Casey is the reason for that failure.

Ari: You touched on universities and the working class. You also mentioned that warehouses are good places for young people to start careers. Many young people are concerned about the future and don’t see where they fit. What’s your vision for young people in Pennsylvania over the next few decades?

Dave: This election is about your generation: young people. I'm 59, so I tell people I'll be okay no matter what because I have more years behind me than in front of me. But for young people, this is about their future. Pennsylvania is blessed with natural resources, great cities, universities, and a gritty, capable workforce.

I’ve learned that you don’t need a college degree to find great opportunities. So we need to embrace our universities, but also skilled trades. Pennsylvania has huge potential in advanced manufacturing and energy. Our energy industry could grow tenfold if we unlock its potential. We have the fourth largest natural gas reserves in the world, but we can’t fully access them because of the lack of permits for drilling and pipelines.

If the sectors we talked about grow, they’ll create opportunities. So we need to create an environment where businesses like these can grow, and then help young people gain the skills they need to participate.

I’ve given speeches about this: We need to put as much emphasis on skilled trades as we do on college degrees. I was a beneficiary of the GI Bill, and I think it should be expanded to help people gain skills for great careers and the American Dream.

We should also adjust Pell Grants to help people get the skills they need. Public-private partnerships, some of which are already happening in Pennsylvania, are helping young people match with opportunities in industries. Not everyone needs a four-year degree. We need vibrant growth in key industries like energy and workers who have the skills to succeed.

Ari: Democrats have tried to attract young voters with student loan forgiveness, but that didn’t pan out under the Biden administration. Many students are now frustrated. What are your thoughts on high tuition costs, and how can we solve the issue for students who don’t want loans or to go to trade school?

Dave: Student loan forgiveness was an abysmal idea. It’s fundamentally unfair and un-American. I didn’t have to worry about this because I went to West Point, but I had two high school buddies — one took six years to get through college because he didn’t want big loans, and the other didn’t go at all.

Under Biden’s plan, those guys would be paying for someone else’s student loan forgiveness, even though they might make less money than the person getting forgiven.

That’s wrong, but we do have a problem with tuition spiraling out of control. We need to give people the opportunity to work for their education. By that I mean, we need to make higher education more competitive from a price perspective. We should provide loans to students willing to work their way through college, but we must also create jobs and opportunities to pursue this.

They have to make a commitment to working to be able to do that. The military is a great model for this — through the GI Bill or ROTC, you get support for education, but in return, you serve. I think we should think of higher education like that — reduce costs, create opportunities, and reward commitment.

We should make education more affordable, but it shouldn’t be a handout. There's nothing like earning what you achieve. People value what they work for. So, yes, make higher education accessible, but don’t give it away for free.

Ari: I lived in my parents’ basement for a year and a half to pay off my loans. When I saw forgiveness almost happen for others, I thought, this is crazy.

Dave: Exactly. Think about how much more satisfaction you have now that you’ve paid it off. When I started out, I think I made $18,000 a year. I didn’t have any money, but think about the satisfaction of earning your way. We’re a country of people who have earned their way. We need to help people pursue opportunity, but it has to be a partnership — people need to want to help themselves too. That’s the balancing act.

What I hear from Kamala Harris and Bob Casey is that we just need to give more. The more they give, the more votes they think they’ll get. But that will destroy the country. We can’t afford it, and it undermines the American principle of merit: Work hard, and you can achieve the American Dream.

Ari: My parents are immigrants. By the time they were a little older than me, they were buying a house. But now prices are high, and younger folks just want to rent. Democrats have been trying to address it: Kamala Harris has even talked about building government housing. What’s your take on solving the housing problem for this generation?

Dave: You’ve got to look at the root causes. You’ve got to understand how we got to where we are before you can fix it. For the last decade, The Federal Reserve has printed easy money which drove up the prices of all assets. This means that people who had things like houses or stocks got wealthier, but those who didn’t own assets got left behind.

On top of that, inflation made everything more expensive. If you're living paycheck to paycheck, like 60 percent of Pennsylvanians, you’re getting squeezed on food, fuel, and rent, so you don’t have any money left for a house or car. And when the Federal Reserve tried to bring down inflation, they had to raise interest rates, making mortgages more expensive.

This is the result of bad policies: too much money printing from the Federal Reserve and $5 trillion in extra spending under Biden. For homes under $250,000, new home purchases are down 25 percent. Young people trying to buy a house can’t do it, and renting is so expensive.

We need to bring down inflation and interest rates. To do that, we have to pull back unnecessary spending, like student loan forgiveness and trillions in electric vehicle subsidies. And we need to unlock our energy sector, which will lower prices and give people more disposable income for homes and other things.

We’re also sitting on $35 trillion in debt, with $1 trillion in interest payments. That’s more than our defense budget. It’s not sustainable, and it's where Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and Bob Casey have taken us. If I was in the Senate, I’d fight for a balanced budget amendment, cut spending, and unlock energy. That will bring down interest rates and make it easier for people like you to buy a house.

Ari: That’s great.

Dave: One last thing — I’ve got six daughters. I really believe this election will change the course of the country for better or worse for America and for your generation. I hope those who hear this will get out and vote for their future.

And if they vote for their future, their economic future, I believe they'll vote for President Trump and me. I’m running for a better future for all of you, and I'd be honored to take on that fight for all of us, especially your generation.