A vulnerable Democratic senator facing a tough re-election battle in a key "blue wall" Rust Belt swing state appears to have just distanced himself from his party's nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, and her incumbent administration currently led by President Joe Biden.

Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) just released a new campaign ad in which he is touted as an "independent" who "bucked" the Biden-Harris regime on its energy policies and "sided" with Republican former President Donald Trump on tariffs and trade deals, Fox News reported.

It is a continuation of the tightrope the Pennsylvania Democrat has been walking for months to try to court needed support from independent, moderate, and conservative voters without alienating his liberal base.

Casey's new ad

The new campaign ad for Sen. Casey features an ideologically split married couple -- she's a Republican and he's a Democrat -- who disagree on most things politically except for their shared support for the "independent" incumbent senator.

"Casey’s leading the effort to stop corporate greedflation and price-gouging," the wife said. "Casey bucked Biden to protect fracking and he sided with Trump to end NAFTA and put tariffs on China to stop them from cheating."

"So in this house, we agree, it’s Bob Casey who’s doing right by Pennsylvania," she added as the senator stood between the couple and said with a smile, "I’m Bob Casey and I definitely approve this message."

Casey holds slim lead in the polls

According to Fox News, Sen. Casey's Pennsylvania seat is rated as "leans Dem" but it is nonetheless viewed as one of the more vulnerable seats Democrats have to defend from Republicans in the 2024 cycle.

According to RealClearPolling's average of polls in the state, Casey leads his Republican challenger, businessman and combat veteran David McCormick, by a shrinking margin of just 2.1 points.

As that key Senate race has tightened, so too has the presidential race in the critical battleground state, as the RCP average shows that former President Trump, who previously led President Biden by a wide margin before he dropped out, currently leads VP Harris by just 0.7 points.

A "sign of desperation" from Casey?

Fox News reported that a McCormick spokesperson said the new campaign ad was just "another sign of desperation from flailing career politician Bob Casey," while a top GOP state legislator pointed out that the Democratic senator was "running ads cozying up to Trump" because he "knows Kamala is going to lose" the state.

The Trump campaign also noted that Casey was now "desperately trying to embrace President Trump" after twice voting to impeach him and it was pointed out how Casey made no mention in the ad of VP Harris as well as that he rather noticeably has not joined her on the campaign trail in the Keystone State.

Highlighting other vulnerable Democratic senators who've similarly seemed to distance themselves from Harris, a Trump campaign senior adviser suggested, "This is undeniable, irrefutable proof that Trump is winning in these key battlegrounds, and those bumps you hear are Kamala Harris being thrown under the bus by incumbent Democrats, who used to be her colleagues in the Senate. The Harris camp must be beside themselves with fury over being rejected and abandoned like this, but that’s what happens when you get stuck with the worst candidate in modern political history."

In response to the criticism from Republicans, a spokesperson for Casey said the Democratic incumbent "does what's right for Pennsylvania, regardless of party," and added, "Whether it’s standing up to China or fighting corporate greed, he stands with Pennsylvanians and doesn't care what any politician has to say about it."