Smith: Casey Obama's trusted ally

Here's GOP US Senate winner Tom Smith's statement tonight:

(Pittsburgh) - Tom Smith, Republican nominee for United States Senate, tonight released the following statement in reaction to his primary night victory:

"I am grateful to my family, my supporters, countless volunteers and the Republican voters of Pennsylvania," said Smith. "I also extend my respect and gratitude to my primary opponents - each of whom ran a spirited campaign. I know that each of them will continue to be strong advocates for the principles of limited government, lower taxes and economic freedom."

"This election will be about Senator Casey's record. In his six years in the Senate, Casey has been President Obama's most trusted ally in massively expanding government, ballooning the debt, and eroding our freedoms. A half-million unemployed Pennsylvanians deserve a Senator with the real world private sector experience to get our economy back on track."

Full prepared remarks are here.

Here's Casey's statement:

"I am thankful for the strong support I received from across the Commonwealth to run again as the Democratic nominee. In the Senate I have stood up for Pennsylvania and for working families. I am running for reelection to continue to serve as an independent fighter for the people of Pennsylvania. We face many challenges: we need to put more Pennsylvanians back to work and unfair foreign trade is allowing countries like China to cheat.

"There will be a clear contrast in November between who has stood up for Pennsylvania working families and who has proposed more unaffordable tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, between who has fought against trade deals that will ship Pennsylvania jobs overseas and who supports the flawed trade policies of the past, between who will protect and strengthen Medicare and Social Security and who wants to dismantle these vital promises."