Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro isn’t Kamala Harris’ pick for vice president

HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro has not been tapped to run for vice president on the Democratic ticket with Kamala Harris.

Shapiro, 51, a centrist Democrat, was passed over for Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota.

“One of the things that stood out to me about Tim is how his convictions on fighting for middle class families run deep. It’s personal,” Harris wrote on social media Tuesday, announcing the pick. “We are going to build a great partnership. We are going to build a great team. We are going to win this election.”

Shapiro, a popular chief executive in a must-win state for Democrats, quickly emerged as a lead contender for the No. 2 spot. But his critics resurrected some of the more controversial and embarrassing episodes in his political career, including lingering questions about how he handled a sexual harassment complaint against a top advisor.

While Shapiro didn’t make the ticket, Pennsylvania is still at the center of the Harris campaign’s new chapter.

At a packed event at Philadelphia’s Temple University, Harris appeared alongside her new running mate and made a pitch focused on opposing abortion restrictions (which Republican nominee Donald Trump and his running mate J.D. Vance support), protecting the Affordable Care Act, and giving families stability.

“Strengthening the middle class will be my defining goal when I am president of the United States,” Harris told the crowd.

Also present and emphatically supportive of the Harris-Walz ticket? Shapiro, who served as a prominent Biden surrogate on the Pennsylvania campaign trail in 2020.

He took the stage in Philly to thunderous applause, and kicked off his speech by assuring Pennsylvanians, “I love being your governor.”

“I'm going to be working my tail off to make sure we make Kamala Harris and Tim Walz the next leaders of the United States of America,” he said.

Of Harris, he added, “She has a big heart and she is battle-tested and ready to go.” He called Walz “a great man.”

“Tim Walz is an outstanding governor. Tim Walz is a teacher. Tim Walz is a guardsman. Tim Walz is a great patriot,” Shapiro said. “And I’ll tell you what else, Tim Walz is a dear friend.”

Harris also made it clear that Shapiro will have a role in the campaign.

“Josh is a dear, dear friend and an extraordinary leader,” she said. “He and I have been spending a lot of time together over the years, and I told Josh, look, I am so, so invested in our friendship and doing this together, because together with Josh Shapiro, we will win Pennsylvania.”

Stephen Caruso / Spotlight PA

Harris’ decision ends weeks of intense vetting and speculation, and comes shortly before the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. There, Harris will take President Joe Biden’s place as the Democratic presidential nominee following Biden’s momentous decision to drop out of the race and forgo a potential second term in the White House.

As Democratic voters gathered Tuesday at Temple’s Liacouras Center, many told Spotlight PA they would have no trouble getting on board with Walz as vice president, even though he edged out their governor.

Rachel Farrow, a 30-year-old marketing director who said she has been knocking on doors for the Harris campaign, told Spotlight PA that, selfishly, she's happy Shapiro is staying in Pennsylvania because he makes her feel safe that her reproductive rights will be protected.

She thinks Walz’s working-class roots will appeal to the kinds of voters who defected to Trump in 2016 and helped him win Pennsylvania.

"I think a person like Tim Walz represents Americana," Farrow said. "A Midwest dad."

Kelly Schaaf is also all in. Schaaf, who is 47 and works for the Philadelphia school district, was raised a Republican but changed her registration in part because of her disdain for the rise of Christian nationalism within the party.

She said she’s looking forward to voting for a woman with a “solid track record of voting for people’s rights,” and added that the addition of Walz doesn’t hurt. “He does good work in education,” she said of the former geography teacher.

Democrats weren’t the only ones campaigning in Pennsylvania on Tuesday.

Just a few hours before Harris’ event at Temple, U.S. Sen J.D. Vance of Ohio, Trump’s running mate, appeared at a smaller rally at a South Philly venue best known for holding boxing matches.

There, Vance debuted some of the Trump campaign’s criticisms of the newly formalized Democratic ticket. Harris and Walz, he said, are both far left.

“The biggest problem with the Tim Walz pick — it's not Tim Walz himself. It's what it says about Kamala Harris, that when given an opportunity, she will bend the knee to the most radical elements of her party,” Vance said.

Some members of the mostly local crowd at that event told Spotlight PA they had some misgivings about Vance joining Trump’s ticket.

Angelina Banks, who traveled from Montgomery County to attend with her two young daughters, described herself as a dedicated conservative. She ran unsuccessfully for state House in 2022 and was an alternate delegate for Trump at this year’s Republican National Convention.

When Trump initially chose Vance as a running mate, Banks said, she was “a little taken off guard” because of the 40-year-old’s relative youth. But, she added, “The more that I've gotten to know him over the last few weeks, I can understand the choice, and I really support it.”

Giovanna McKinley, a 21-year-old nursing student from South Philly, said she’s excited to vote for the ticket because of her concerns about inflation and the southern border. But she added she’s a little unsettled by Vance’s previous full-throated support for a nationwide abortion ban. He has more recently said he thinks states should make their own laws.

“I mean, I'm pro-women's rights. Definitely, that's one thing I am worried about,” she said. “But I don't think our rights will be stripped away completely. Obviously, he's for everyone. He's not just for, you know, the men.”

Shapiro weathered criticism before being passed over

Though many Philadelphia voters told Spotlight PA they’re happy Shapiro is staying put, he didn’t emerge unscathed from the vice presidential vetting process.

After a key aide — and longtime political ally — was accused of sexual harassment during Shapiro’s first year in office, his administration quietly negotiated and paid out a $295,000 settlement. The aide resigned three weeks later.

The National Women's Defense League, a nonprofit that seeks to prevent sexual harassment, called on the Harris campaign to consider Shapiro’s handling of the incident.

"The American people deserve to know that, if called to a higher office, Governor Shapiro will do more to ensure the safety and dignity of employees, volunteers and constituents in his office,” the group said in a statement.

The vetting also rekindled tension over the incident at home. While some Democrats publicly defended Shapiro’s handling of the issue, others joined the criticism, as did Republicans. State Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward, a frequent opponent, posted on social media that the incident showed a “general disrespect for women.”

Shapiro’s stance on Israel and its war in Gaza also came under intense scrutiny. An observant Conservative Jew, Shapiro has frequently said that his faith has played prominently into his decision to enter and remain in public service.

He is a vocal supporter of Israel, telling the New York Times earlier this year that he is “pro-the idea of a Jewish homeland, a Jewish state, and I will certainly do everything in my power to ensure that Israel is strong and Israel is fortified and will exist for generations.”

In Harrisburg, he has shown this by hosting official events with Israeli survivors of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack and backing a bill to strip state funding from any college that divests from Israel. As attorney general, Shapiro also supported using a state law that targets companies that participate in the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement to punish Ben & Jerry’s.

And amid rising protests against the war, the Shapiro administration updated the office’s code of conduct to bar “scandalous” conduct. An email accompanying the policy cited social media posts, boycotts, graffiti, and public confrontations as examples of potential “hate speech” that would not be tolerated.

However, Shapiro has also criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calling him “one of the worst leaders of all time” early this year.

As the vetting continued, The Inquirer unearthed an opinion article Shaprio wrote as a student at the University of Rochester, in which he described Palestinians as “too battle-minded to be able to establish a peaceful homeland of their own.”

A spokesperson said Shapiro’s stance has changed over the past three decades.

In that same article, Shapiro wrote that he was a “past volunteer in the Israeli army.” His spokesperson told Spotlight PA in a statement, “At no time was he engaged in any military activities."

"While he was in high school, Josh Shapiro was required to do a service project, which he and several classmates completed through a program that took them to a kibbutz in Israel where he worked on a farm and at a fishery,” the spokesperson said. “The program also included volunteering on service projects on an Israeli army base.”

Shapiro’s support for taxpayer-funded private school vouchers made him a target of powerful unions and progressive groups.

He first publicly voiced support for the idea while running for governor in 2022. Last year, the state Senate passed a $100 million voucher plan that GOP leadership said had been crafted with Shapiro. Democrats privately said they were blindsided by the move and refused to give their support to the proposal.

Despite Shapiro’s efforts to assuage members of his party, the governor was forced to abandon the plan, though he still supports the idea.

United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain called Shapiro’s support of vouchers “troubling” in an interview with the Detroit News.

"We all know what the voucher system is," Fain said. "It's a system where the rich people can have the taxpayers fund their kids' private education."

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