From the minute President Joe Biden bowed out of his bid for another term and Vice President Kamala Harris claimed the de facto nomination, all eyes were on Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro as her all-but-certain running mate pick. As a popular governor in one of the biggest swing states – with tight polls and 19 Electoral College votes in play – Harris and Shapiro seemed a perfect match.
So, imagine the surprise in Pennsylvania when Harris tapped little-known Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate on Tuesday.
“Harris campaign must believe they can win Pennsylvania without Shapiro on [the] ticket,” public affairs executive Larry Ceisler told DVJournal.
The “Shapiro-for-VP” campaign ran into headwinds shortly after his name was leaked as a possible running mate. U.S. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) reportedly told Harris aides he believed Shapiro was too ambitious. Unions questioned his commitment to public education due to his past support of school vouchers.
Shapiro’s allies like Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker did him no favors when they released a video last Friday calling him “Vice President Josh Shapiro.” That ruffled feathers on the Harris team and raised concerns about the depths of Shapiro’s own ambitions, according to Fox News. The governor reportedly didn’t know the video was being released.
But it was the problematic politics of the Israel-Palestine conflict that created the most headaches. Anti-Israel progressives in the party launched the “No Genocide Josh” campaign last month. They cited previous statements Shapiro made on campus protests after the Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
Many political observers noted Shapiro’s policy positions on Israel are almost identical to Walz and other Democrats on the vice presidential short list. That suggests it may not be Shapiro’s politics, but his status as a Sabbath-observant Jew, that was the real problem.
Brett Goldman with Democratic Jewish Outreach Pennsylvania told Jewish Insider he believed Harris was “succumbing to pressure from the left” when she passed over Shapiro, and the opposition is “based in” antisemitism and anti-Zionism.
Former Obama adviser Van Jones wondered on CNN if the Harris campaign sought to appease “darker parts in the party” by not picking Shapiro. He suggested Walz was seen as a way to make Muslim and Arab voters comfortable.
Bellevue Communications Vice President Jeff Jubelirer expressed disappointment that Shapiro’s name won’t be on the November ballot. He told DVJournal Shapiro would have brought more independents, moderates, and anti-Trump Republicans to the polls. But picking Walz “definitely shores up the base,” he acknowledged.
Despite it all, Shapiro remains a loyal Democratic soldier.
He’s given a full-throated endorsement to the Harris-Walz ticket and vowed to unite Keystone State voters behind it. All three appeared together at a rally in Philadelphia on Tuesday night.
Political campaign operatives say the setback will be a footnote in Shapiro’s career.
“Everyone in the world knows him now,” longtime Pennsylvania Democratic strategist Neil Oxman told DVJournal.
He said Shapiro will get a spate of speaking invitations to high-dollar Democratic fundraisers. The governor will also get to know more political consultants. “It’s a home run for him,” added Oxman.
Ceisler told DVJournal the governor “made a very strong impression on people and was noticed.”
Republican strategists think Shapiro dodged a bullet by not attaching his star to Harris. They suspect he’ll have a bigger say in 2028 or 2032, depending on the results of this year’s election.
“I’m sure he and his closest advisers probably didn’t think it was the best move at this time,” Vince Galko with Mercury Public Affairs told DVJournal. “He clearly has his eyes on the number one spot.”
A Politico report said Shapiro wasn’t sure he wanted to leave Harrisburg. Shapiro said there was a lot he wanted to accomplish for Commonwealth residents because his work wasn’t finished.
For critics, that could mean becoming more bipartisan.
Commonwealth Foundation Senior Vice President Nathan Benefield hoped the governor would use the VP snub as a lesson. “Shapiro’s all-flash-and-no-substance leadership approach failed him. Gov. Shapiro would be wise to put his political ambitions aside and focus on delivering the bipartisan policies he promised to Pennsylvanians during his run for governor,” he said.
