Julia Terruso and Katie Bernard - The Philadelphia Inquirer (TNS)

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., conceded to Republican Dave McCormick on Thursday, formally ending his reelection bid and acknowledging defeat two weeks after the Associated Press declared McCormick's victory and after a statewide recount of the race had already been triggered.

Casey had resisted conceding, citing thousands of votes that still needed to be counted and entering court fights to maximize the number of ballots included. But as final ballots were adjudicated Thursday, Casey's roughly 16,500 vote deficit was too large to overcome and so large that a recount would not impact it.

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