Narrowly defeated for reelection to the U.S. Senate, Pennsylvania Democratic stalwart and Scranton political scion Bob Casey bid farewell Wednesday from Congress. In a razor-thin outcome marked by recounts, Casey lost the Nov. 5 general election to Republican Dave McCormick, a former CEO of the world’s largest hedge fund. Casey — Pennsylvania’s longest-serving Democrat in the Senate — will end three terms of 18 years at the close of the 118th Congress on Jan. 3.   Pa. Senator Bob Casey tours the Frank and Carolyn Kowalksi Center for Advanced Healthcare Education at King’s College in Wilkes-Barre on Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER) FILE – Pennsylvania Senate candidate Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., takes part in a debate at the WPVI-TV studio, Oct. 15, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File) FILE – Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., left, stops to speak to members of the media before voting, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Scranton, Pa. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File) Bob Casey speaks with members of the media after arriving to vote on Election Day at Scranton High School on Nov. 5, 2024, in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., left, stops to speak to members of the media before voting, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Scranton, Pa. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) Sen. Bob Casey Jr. talks about expansion at Scranton-based WRC with Executive Director Peg Ruddy, center, and Katherine E. Leahy, board president, left. (CHAD SEBRING/STAFF PHOTO) Bob Casey, D- Pa., speaks at his campaign rally at the Laborers Training Center in Philadelphia in January. Actor Martin Sheen speaks on stage with Senator Bob Casey during a Casey campaign event at PNC Field in Moosic on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024. (Christopher Dolan / Staff Photographer) Actor Martin Sheen speaks on stage with Senator Bob Casey during a Casey campaign event at PNC Field in Moosic on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024. (Christopher Dolan / Staff Photographer) U.S. Sen. Bob Casey speaks at the Electric City Trolley Museum in Scranton Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER) Show Caption1 of 10Pa. Senator Bob Casey tours the Frank and Carolyn Kowalksi Center for Advanced Healthcare Education at King’s College in Wilkes-Barre on Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER) Expand On Wednesday, Casey delivered his farewell address on the Senate floor, and was joined by family, friends, colleagues and current and former staff members celebrating “his record of delivering for Pennsylvanians, supporting children and families, and fighting for people with disabilities.” “I rise today for the final time as a United States Senator with a heart full of gratitude,” Casey said. “When I was growing up in Scranton, Pennsylvania, my mother Ellen Harding Casey would often say to my brothers and sisters and me … ‘count your blessings.’ Count your blessings. She would say that over and over again. So today I seek to do so here on the floor of the United States Senate.” U.S. Sen. Bob Casey of Scranton, Pennsylvania delivers his final remarks on the Senate floor on Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. (IMAGE SCREEN COPY FROM U.S. SENATE SIMULCAST ONLINE Casey’s remarks were rich with thanks for his constituents, his family, his staff and the staff of the Senate. He also referenced the inscription on the Finance Building in Harrisburg — “All public service is a trust, given in faith and accepted in honor” — noting it has guided his work throughout his political career. A son of the former Pennsylvania Gov. Robert P. Casey Sr., the younger Casey served on the Senate Finance and HELP (Health, Education, Labor and Pensions) Committees, the Select Committee on Intelligence and the Special Committee on Aging, of which he is chairman, and previously chaired the Joint Economic Committee. During his Senate tenure, Casey championed legislation to improve the lives of families, children, the elderly and workers. He backed the infrastructure-building agenda and American Rescue Plan Act of fellow Scranton native son, President Joe Biden. Casey has long been a leading proponent of trying to restore passenger rail service between Scranton and New York City via Amtrak and in October had announced $9 million in federal grant funding for the start of construction aspects on the rail line. Casey’s legislative efforts on numerous fronts included efforts to: strengthen Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid; reduce prescription drug costs; rescue tens of thousands of workers’ pensions; stem illegal fentanyl trafficking; protect critical U.S. technology; support conservation at Pennsylvania farms; back the Inflation Reduction Act; fight “corporate greed” and price gouging as drivers of some high prices hitting pocketbooks; and supporting clean energy manufacturing in Pennsylvania. During his remarks on the Senate floor, Casey ticked off a list of legislation of which he was proud, including laws to allow people with disabilities to save for their futures, to prevent sexual assault on college campuses, the Pregnant Worker Fairness Act, provisions providing free school breakfast and lunches, and to make airline cockpits safer to prevent terrorism. His legacy also will include changing from an anti-abortion to abortion-rights stance — a switch which stood in stark contrast to his father’s famously anti-abortion stance in the Democratic party. The Casey name was cemented into the state’s political history by his father, who was a popular two-term Pennsylvania governor. The younger Casey followed in his father’s footsteps in politics and public service and became, in his own right, a dyed-in-the-wool Democratic stalwart in his hometown of Scranton, as well as in Pennsylvania and the nation. Now 64, Casey added to the family legacy by serving eight years as state auditor general and two years as state treasurer before becoming the first person elected to the U.S. Senate from Northeast Pennsylvania. Casey had a 28-year run in state and federal elected offices, having racked up six general election victories dating to 1996 and one primary-election loss — a bid in 2002 for the Democratic nomination for governor. The year after his father left the governor’s mansion, Casey ran in 1996 for state auditor general and won, and served in that office from 1997-2005. While still in office as auditor general, Casey ran for governor in the 2002 Democratic primary but lost to former Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell. Before entering the Senate, Casey served as state treasurer from 2005-2006. He then was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2006 as a conservative Democrat in a blue wave year, defeating former Republican Sen. Rick Santorum by 17.4 percentage points. Casey was reelected to the Senate in 2012 over Republican mining magnate Tom Smith by 9.1 percentage points, and reelected again in 2018 over Republican former Hazleton Mayor and U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta by 12.8 percentage points. But the 2024 general election would prove to be his toughest Senate race. It was the first time Casey ran at the same time in an election as Donald Trump, who recaptured Pennsylvania this year after losing the state in 2020 and winning it in 2016. Casey’s loss also coincides with the upset of six-term Democratic incumbent U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright of Moosic to Republican Rob Bresnahan, and the big win by President-Elect Donald Trump over Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris. With Trump recapturing the White House, Republicans also will control the Senate and House of Representatives. Exits of Casey and Cartwright from the Capitol will precede the departure of Biden from the White House on Jan. 20. During his final address, Casey noted numerous examples of work that will remain after he leaves office. The Senate must seize opportunities to help families and children, confront China head-on as an economic competitor and defend Democracy, including continuing to support Ukraine, he said. “Our nation has generously supported the Ukrainian military,” he continued. “We cannot stop. Abandoning them now undermines freedom-loving people all over the world.” “There’s a big moment in 2025, a tax bill, I won’t be here for it, but that tax debate will be a critical moment for American families,” Casey also said. “Congress will decide whether to help middle-class and low-income families, people striving to get to the middle class, or to continue what I would argue is a 40-year trend to provide substantial tax benefits to the largest corporations on the planet Earth and the wealthiest Americans.” “I hope that the Senate will act to help the middle class and those striving to get to the middle class,” he said. Casey concluded by speaking about service to others. Referencing Scripture, Casey said, “It is in giving that we receive.” He referenced Martin Luther King Jr., saying, “Everyone can be great, because everyone can serve,” by helping others. “I will continue to do my part to serve as a citizen and as a Pennsylvanian. Serving in the United States Senate has been the honor of a lifetime,” Casey said. Staff writer Jeff Horvath contributed to this report