Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania sheriff rips ‘weak’ Bob Casey’s record on fentanyl in scathing new McCormick ad: ‘My son would be alive today’
Republican Senate candidate Dave McCormick is taking aim at his Democratic opponent and tugging at Pennsylvania’s heartstrings in a new campaign ad showing the impact of fentanyl — and the open border policies that allow it to flow freely — on American families.
In the 30-second spot, Blair County Sheriff Jim Ott speaks solemnly into the camera, sharing his experience with fentanyl, not only as an officer of the law, but also as a bereaved father.
“Three high schoolers die from fentanyl every day. As a sheriff, I see it. As a father, it happened to me,” Ott said, while a piano played softly in the background.
Then comes the attack.
“If the border was secure, chances are my son would be alive today,” Ott continued.
“We can’t bring back the people we’ve lost. But we can get rid of the weak politicians like Bob Casey who let it happen.”
Fentanyl killed 4,000 Pennsylvanians last year, and the McCormick campaign hopes to pin the drug epidemic and its death toll on Casey, a three-term incumbent who is leading in the polls.
Record-breaking illegal immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border under the Biden administration has fueled GOP messaging, which highlights the role of lax border security as a culprit for fentanyl deaths.
The Ott ad is the latest shot fired in the Casey-McCormick race, a hotly contested battle in a major swing state where ad spending is predicted to break records this cycle.
In July, Casey attacked McCormick, who was CEO of Bridgewater Associates when the company held a $1.7 million stake in China’s largest synthetic opiate manufacturer. McCormick fired back, calling Casey the “ultimate liar and hypocrite” when it turned out the senator holds a three-cent stake in the same company in his personal stock portfolio.
Now the fentanyl blame game has reached the southern border.
Last week, a PAC supporting McCormick ran an ad with the Beaver County sheriff tying “Casey’s open border policy” to fentanyl, drug dealers, and human traffickers.
This week, there’s a new sheriff in town repping McCormick — and he’s not holding back.
“If I could talk to Senator Casey, if this happened in your family, wouldn’t you give as much as you could give? Wouldn’t you provide whatever is needed to make sure you gave the safety to try and stop it from coming into your home?” Ott said in a two-minute version of the ad.
But other advocates fighting the fentanyl crisis don’t place the blame on Casey.
Last week Casey hosted Gregory Swan, the founder of Fentanyl Fathers, at his Pittsburgh home with other families affected by the fentanyl crisis to hear their stories.
Swan’s group, which educates America’s youth about the dangers of fentanyl, featured one of its surrogates in a commercial with Casey, and defended his record on the issue.
“In terms of the FEND Off Fentanyl Act, he got that through as a federal law. So he’s no lightweight when it comes to” fentanyl, Swan told The Post.
The law he refers to sanctions the manufacture and trafficking of illicit fentanyl and its precursors by Chinese criminal organizations and Mexican cartels.
Still, Swan isn’t fully sold on Democrats’ policy solutions.
“The border is not secure. That’s an issue with us,” Swan said.
“Democrats are definitely the owners of the influx of migration, which has brought the drugs. You have a lot of people who are unvetted. It’s pouring, pouring in.”
Beyond stopping Chinese fentanyl precursors and prevention through awareness, Swan said, “You need someone with cojones to take care of the cartels.”
McCormick’s offered an aggressive solution, telling The Post: “We should identify the cartels as terrorist organizations,” and “use our military capacity,” to destroy them.”
Stacy McGarrity speaks at Franklin County’s America250 kickoff
The state treasurer and GOP gubernational candidate was among several speakers at Franklin County’s America250 kickoff on Jan. 22, 2026, at the 11/30 Visitors Center in Chambersburg,
An oversized check presented to Greencastle’s Rescue Hose Co. by Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity on Thursday, March 26, 2026, is a small representation of billions of dollars of unclaimed property her office wants to return to its owners.
The $16,000 was uncovered by Larry Booker, who works in regional outreach for the Pennsylvania Treasury Department, during an unclaimed property event hosted in Greencastle by state Rep. Chad Reichard, a Republican who represents part of Franklin County.
“Near the end of the event, Larry asked for the local municipalities and fire stations so he could look them up,” according to Josh Peters, Reichard’s district director.
When Reichard’s office called the Rescue Hose Co. with a message about the money, Bill Hull, president, recalled he quickly asked, “What do we have to do?”
Paperwork was completed, a regular check deposited in the general fund and the money will be used to pay bills, according to Tom Bricker, fire company treasurer.
Garrity, a Republican who took office in 2021, is running for governor of Pennsylvania this year. She stopped by the Rescue Hose Co. before attending the Franklin County Republican Committee’s annual Lincoln Day Dinner in the Marion Fire Hall.
What to know about unclaimed property
At the check presentation, Garrity took some time to talk about unclaimed property in Pennsylvania, some $5 billion, including $17.5 million in Franklin County.
One in 10 Pennsylvanians has unclaimed property, she said.
“It’s not the state’s money, it belongs to the hard-working people of Pennsylvania,” Garrity said. It also belongs to municipalities, organizations, fire companies and other groups. The total includes $17.5 million in Franklin County.
Antrim Township Administrator Chris Ardininger got some laughs at the presentation when he said his township recently claimed $67.
The money ends up in the state’s hands from a variety of sources, such as uncashed checks, closed bank accounts, rebates, old insurance policies, a misspelling or a wrong address.
There’s also tangible property from abandoned safe deposit boxes, police evidence lockers, nursing homes and college dorms. The list includes things as diverse as jewelry, fine china and guitars, according to Jake Sarwar, deputy press secretary.
Garrity is a retired U.S. Army Reserve colonel and returning military medals – Purple Hearts, Bronze Stars and even a World War I Mothers and Widows Gold Star Pilgrimage Medal – to veterans and their families is very meaningful to her and her staff, Sarwar said.
How to claim unclaimed property
“We do whatever we can to help find the owners,” Sarwar said.
Treasury outreach representatives participated in about 1,300 events last year, Garrity said. They can help people search and file the paperwork to claim unclaimed property.
Anyone can look for money on their own by going to patreasury.gov/unclaimed-property or calling 800-222-2046.
The check really is in the mail
Money Match is a new way for the Pennsylvania Treasury Department to return unclaimed property. Supported unanimously by the General Assembly and signed into law by the Gov. Josh Shapiro, it went into effect last year.
When individuals with unclaimed property of $500 or less, who meet other criteria of the bill, are identified by the treasury, their money will automatically be sent to them.
“If you receive a letter from the Pennsylvania Treasury Department indicating that you have money coming thanks to Money Match, hold on to it. You should receive your check about 45 days later,” says the treasury department website.
The payout was $50 million in 2025. The first round of checks for this year – 100,000 totaling $23 million – was just sent out, according to a news release from the Treasury Deparment.
YORK COUNTY, Pa. (WHP) — The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection accused J&K Salvage of violating its administrative order to close the business, according to a new court filing.
During an inspection on March 23, a DEP inspector saw several vehicles enter and exit the salvage yard while hauling scrap metal, according to the petition.
The DEP said this is in violation of its March 17 administrative order that required the business to “cease accepting all solid wastes at the site.”
READ MORE | Pennsylvania DEP orders York County scrap yard to shut down, asks court to jail owner
In his report, inspector Kalen Boyer attached several photos of vehicles that he said brought additional scrap metal to the site.
A photo submitted by DEP inspector Kalen Boyer in his inspection report. He captioned the photo, “Roll off truck entering the Site with roll off container containing scrap metal.”
A photo submitted by DEP inspector Kalen Boyer in his inspection report. He captioned the photo, “Tan pick up truck that entered the Site with the scrap metal desk leaving the Site empty.”
In the petition, the DEP is requesting a judge enforce its order against J&K Salvage. It also requests the owners to pay $100 per day for each day they fail to comply with the court order.
CBS 21 reached out to J&K Salvage for comment and has not immediately heard back.
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