A Democratic election official in Pennsylvania offered an impassioned apology Wednesday for claiming “precedent by a court doesn’t matter anymore in this country” to justify counting about 600 faulty ballots in defiance of state Supreme Court rulings.

Democratic Sen. Bob Casey called Republican David McCormick to concede in Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate election. The move comes after the race was too close to call and triggered an automatic recount.

According to unofficial results, Republican Dave McCormick leads incumbent Democrat Bob Casey by roughly 16,000 votes. "That is a staggeringly close number considering that 36,604 Philadelphians chose to undervote the race," said Philadelphia Commissioner Lisa M Deeley (D), meaning they voted for President but skipped over the Senate race.

Bucks County has been at the center of controversy since a commissioner said she willingly decided to ignore a court directive to disqualify certain ballots.

Incumbent U.S. Sen. Bob Casey asked for the recount to be ended, the Pennsylvania Department of State told counties

Pa., on Thursday conceded the race for Pennsylvania's Senate seat to his Republican opponent, Dave McCormick. NBC News projected McCormick's win in the hotly contested battleground state race shortly after Casey's concession,

Democratic Sen. Bob Casey has conceded to Republican Dave McCormick in Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate election after a close race triggered an automatic recount.

Senator Bob Casey has conceded to his Republican opponent, David McCormick, in a Pennsylvania race that was so close that it triggered a recount.

Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia apologized for claiming court precedent "doesn't matter" in relation to provisional ballots.

A recount had been triggered in the Pennsylvania Senate race as the initial result was within 0.5 percentage points.