Philly's firefighters union backs Bob Casey's rival in Senate race

The firefighters' union representing Pennsylvania's largest city endorsed Republican businessman David McCormick in the hotly contested U.S. Senate race Thursday.

The president of IAFF Local 22, the union representing more than 4,500 firefighters and first responders in Philadelphia, said this election cycle was the first time they'd met with Sen. Bob Casey, Jr. over his 12 years in office.

"Dave McCormick possesses all the qualities that will catapult us forward," union president Mike Bresnan said at a press conference announcing the endorsement.

"We are confident that Dave McCormick will show up when we need him. He is unequivocally the right choice for senator at this pivotal moment in our country's history."

Speaking at the Northern Liberties-based union hall, McCormick said that first responders see first-hand how parts of Philadelphia and the country at-large are struggling and facing the repercussions of lax criminal justice policies.

"We're here today to talk about exactly why these folks are voting for change, as opposed to the status quo," he said.

"We have urban decay, skyrocketing murder rates. They're making sections of this incredible city a terrifying place to raise children," he said, as he stood only a mile or so from Kensington, the North Philadelphia neighborhood often dubbed "America's largest open-air drug market."