Republican Dave McCormick won the U.S. Senate election in Pennsylvania, Decision Desk HQ projected on Thursday, beating Democratic incumbent Bob Casey in an important win for Republicans hoping to capture a majority in the chamber.

Dave McCormick was declared the winner of the U.S Senate race in Pennsylvania last week by the AP, but Senate Democratic leaders have excluded him from orientation as a recount remains possible.

The U.S. Senate race is going to an automatic recount, requiring already exhausted election officials to reprocess seven million ballots in under two weeks.