Why Harris Should Select Shapiro As Her Running Mate
Vice President Kamala Harris’s emergence as the likely nominee for president has supercharged the base of the Democratic Party. Hundreds of thousands of people signed up to volunteer. It’s been reported that Harris has raised more than $200 million since she announced that she will seek the presidency.
The momentum is with Harris now. Yet, she must make a major decision soon that could have major ramifications on the trajectory of the race and could prove decisive in November. Harris must select a vice presidential nominee.
The best choice? Pennsylvania’s Josh Shapiro. He is the popular governor of a must-win swing state, but he brings much more than just that to the table.
Shapiro received the most votes of any candidate on the ballot all three times he ran statewide. In 2016, he received more than three million votes, outpacing Donald Trump and U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, both of whom ran successful races. In 2020, Shapiro outpaced Joe Biden’s vote share when he went on to win Pennsylvania while two other Democratic statewide candidates narrowly lost. When he ran for governor, Shapiro defeated his Trumpian opponent by nearly 800,000 votes, outpacing victorious Senate candidate John Fetterman by approximately 250,000 votes.
Pennsylvania has been politically divided, and Shapiro is the only governor in the nation presiding over a split legislature, yet he has remained broadly popular. Recent polling shows that as much of one-third of Trump voters view him favorably, as do large numbers of independents. Governing Pennsylvania is never easy, but Shapiro has found the recipe for getting things done.
On his first day in office, Shapiro issued an executive order opening 92% of state jobs to people without college degrees. The move played well with many of the blue-collar voters we have heard about in recent presidential elections.
He’s accomplished much legislatively despite the fact the state senate is controlled by the Republicans. The first bill Shapiro signed into law required insurance companies to cover preventive breast and ovarian cancer screenings for high-risk women at no cost.
Shapiro made school funding a top priority. The most recent budget included record-breaking funding for schools that provides free breakfasts for children and will boost the number of mental health counselors.
Shapiro was a successful state attorney general before running for governor. When Trump tried to overturn the 2020 election results, Shapiro took him on – and won. He launched a ground-breaking investigation into abuse by Catholic priests and challenged the big pharmaceutical and fossil fuel industries.
Enjoying electoral victories and a strong record at the state level don’t always lead to success when running nationally. Candidates in both parties have demonstrated this point. Think about Republicans Ron DeSantis and Scott Walker and Democrats Elizabeth Warren and John Edwards, to name just a few. All were considered strong candidates at the outset of their respective races for president, but their prospects fizzled because they lacked the intangibles that make a candidate successful nationally.
Shapiro can take strong stands on controversial issues without alienating those who disagree with him. On supercharged issues such as abortion, trans rights, guns, and others, he’s taken strong positions, yet many who hold differing views still support him.
He has the unique ability to rise to the moment. This was especially true a few weeks ago, when an assassin attempted to kill former President Trump here in Pennsylvania. Emotions were running high, but Shapiro found the right words to honor Corey Comperatore, the former volunteer fire chief and Trump supporter who was killed.
Shapiro’s tempered words and sober response to the tragic event were praised by both Republican and Democratic officials.
Josh Shapiro checks all the boxes that the Harris campaign needs to fill for a running mate. Popular governor of a must-win state? Check. Someone with a track record of getting votes in a politically difficult state? Check. A candidate who will have appeal in numerous battleground states? Check. An accomplished leader who will be a valuable partner once in office? Check.
The Democratic Party is lucky to have deep bench of accomplished elected officials. But Gov. Josh Shapiro belongs at the top of Kamala Harris’s list.
