Philadelphia – Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro has largely skipped the cable news circuit other contenders for Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate have taken part in, and instead has been at Harris campaign events or press conferences in the state.
Of the multiple Democratic politicians also being considered, Shapiro’s state has the most battleground electoral college votes. And of the contenders, the prospect of Shapiro on the presidential ticket has received the most pushback.
Shapiro is joined on the list of potential picks by several Democratic governors: Andy Beshear of Kentucky, Tim Walz of Minnesota, and J.B. Pritzker of Illinois. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, once a Democratic primary rival to Harris in the 2020 cycle, and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly are also among those up for consideration.
Kelly, Shapiro and Walz are expected to have in-person interviews with Harris in Washington D.C. on Sunday, according to multiple sources familiar with the planning. Harris is also having formal interviews with candidates who have not been confirmed in the media, both in person and virtually, according to a source familiar with the process.
The Harris campaign has emphasized that no decision has been made yet. And officials downplayed that the selection of Philadelphia as the first scheduled rally with Harris and her running mate is any indication they’re leaning towards a candidate.
Each candidate has a contingent of supporters. Letters have been sent to Harris from Chicago business executives and abortion rights advocates who praise Pritzker. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has reportedly been supportive of Walz, a former Minnesota Congressman, according to The Hill.
And in Pennsylvania, there’s been clear support for Shapiro from most of the Democratic officials and voters on the ground CBS News talked to in the past week.
Local officials and voters bullish about Shapiro point to his moderate brand earning him a high approval rating – 61% in a recent Fox News poll – the quick rebuild he oversaw of an Interstate 95 highway that collapsed months into his term, and his success in statewide elections since his 2016 Attorney General race.
After a late July rally with Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Pennsylvania U.S. Rep. Madeleine Dean said he was the “best pick” and that he and Harris on the ticket would “blow the roof off the place.”
In a phone call between picnic visits in his northeast Pennsylvania district, Rep. Matt Cartwright said Shapiro “would be dynamite as a vice presidential candidate.” Cartwright holds a Congressional seat that voted for former President Donald Trump by 4 points in 2020.
Asked if Shapiro would help Harris win Pennsylvania’s 19 electoral college votes in November, Cartwright replied, “I have yet to meet anybody who doesn’t think that.”
“It’s incredibly difficult to win the White House if you don’t win Pennsylvania,” said Bob Harvie, a commissioner in the competitive Bucks County, right outside of Philadelphia. “It would be an unbelievable surprise if Shapiro were on the ticket, and Harris doesn’t win Pennsylvania.”
Shapiro has been tight-lipped about the process and his opinion about being in the running for the position. He says it is a “deeply personal decision” for Harris to make, and directs specific reporter questions about details on the process to the Harris campaign.
Like other running mate contenders, Shapiro went after Ohio Sen. JD Vance, Trump’s vice presidential pick, when asked about Vance comparing Shapiro’s style of speech to a “really bad impression of Barack Obama.”
“It is clear that Donald Trump really has buyer’s remorse with his pick,” Shapiro told CBS News on Friday. “Bring it on. I’ll be ready for whatever the hell JD Vance throws my way.”
Pushback over support of school vouchers, pro-Israel stances
Shapiro has encountered some pushback that may undermine the quick unity the Democratic Party has enjoyed since Mr. Biden left the presidential race, and rallied around Harris.
His recorded support for taxpayer-funded private school vouchers is a lingering challenge and prompted a coalition of education groups to send a letter to Harris advocating against Shapiro.
United Auto Worker President Shawn Fain, who told “Face the Nation” on Sunday that Beshear and Walz are his top picks for Harris’ running mate, pointed to Shapiro’s support of school vouchers “as one of the bigger issues we see.”
Shapiro’s office highlighted the $1.11 billion in public education funding in this year’s state budget, which passed on a bipartisan level.
“Despite being the only governor in the nation with a divided legislature—- and despite bad faith attacks from all sides – Josh Shapiro has been a champion for public education and delivered real results,” said spokesman Manuel Bonder.
Progressive and Arab American groups have also criticized Shapiro’s lack of public support for a cease-fire in Gaza and his calls on college presidents to end campus encampments.
In the state’s April primary, over 60,000 cast write-in votes as part of a push by the “uncommitted” group to cast protest votes to Mr. Biden’s response to Gaza.
In an interview with CNN the day after, Shapiro said it would not be tolerated at college campuses “if this were people dressed up in KKK outfits or KKK regalia” protesting, and that it’d be a double standard if anti-Semitism were allowed. Activists interpreted the comment as a comparison.
On Friday, it was Shapiro’s own actions in college that caught attention. In a 1993 college op-ed first reported on by the Philadelphia Inquirer, he expressed skepticism about a two-state solution with Israel and Palestine, and wrote Palestinians are “too battle-minded to be able to establish a peaceful homeland of their own.”
Asked about that article, Shapiro noted he was 20 years old when he wrote the op-ed and has long supported a two-state solution.
“This is obviously a very challenging situation and has been for hundreds if not thousands of years… it is my hope that we can see a day where there will be a two-state solution where all leaders involved in the conversations will respect the other side,” he told CBS News on Friday.
Colleen Kennedy, a Democratic strategist in the state, argued Shapiro could alienate younger voters who were vocal against Mr. Biden’s response to Gaza, but open to Harris.
“If you are going to try to create a strategy where you’re going to win Pennsylvania but you’re definitely endangering winning Michigan, I don’t think that is a strategy [the Harris campaign] is going to pursue,” they said, referencing the over 100,000 “uncommitted” voters in Michigan. The answer was panned by the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ Philadelphia chapter.
Bonder pointed to Shapiro’s criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as “a deeply flawed leader who failed to protect his country on October 7, who continues to steer Israel down a dangerous and destructive path that makes peace harder to achieve.”
Bonder added that the governor has “repeatedly been clear that he supports Israel and its right to defend itself” against Hamas and other terrorist groups.
Shapiro, if chosen and elected, would be the first Jewish vice president in American history.
Some Congressional Democrats have claimed criticism of Shapiro, whose stances on Israel do not differ much from other contenders, is anti-semitism. Outside a cafe in Jenkintown, Pa., where some roads leading into town have signs that read “We Stand With Israel,” Judith Schatz agreed.
“He’s being singled out because he’s Jewish, which I really did not expect to happen,” said Schatz, a Jewish 70-year-old Democratic voter.
Pro-Palestinian organizers have denied any claims their criticism of Shapiro is rooted in anti-semitism, and say it’s purely about his policy stances and past comments.
Cartwright and Harvie, both officials in bellwether areas of the commonwealth, downplayed the impact these stories on Shapiro could have on the race at large.
Cartwright said he’s considered the prospect of further left and younger voters staying home if Shapiro is chosen, but felt Harris’ candidacy has jumpstarted a lot of voter enthusiasm with younger voters.
“People who are worried about Gaza are not going to find much relief in the Trump ticket,” Cartwright added.
“I think that the positives that he brings in vastly outweighs any negatives that could be brought up by somebody. I don’t see that as any kind of threat or danger,” said Harvie.
During a Friday higher education bill signing at Cheyney University, State Sen. Vincent Hughes joked to the university’s president that he should make his request now for Shapiro to speak at the next commencement.
“I’m sure he might be available, if you ask now. Because things could change,” Hughes said.
“Alright. Let’s move on,” Shapiro said amidst laughter in the room.
Weijia Jiang, Fin Gomez and Hunter Woodall contributed reporting.