After securing the Democratic Party's presidential nomination, Kamala Harris is expected to choose her running mate soon. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro is considered the leading candidate. Shapiro has a good pro-Israel track record although has called Netanyahu "one of the worst leaders of all time." Having defended Israel from the BDS and compared the anti-Israel protesters to the KKK, he may just be the first Jewish vice president.
Harris officially became the Democratic Party's presidential candidate on Friday, and is expected to announce her running mate on Sunday or Monday. Over the weekend, she held personal talks with the six possible choices: Shapiro, Kentucky Governor Andrew Beshear, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, Arizona Senator Mark Kelly and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
All six have their own electoral pros and cons but the Harris campaign has impressively avoided any leaks about its preferences. Most estimates and assessments sway in the direction of Shapiro. The Jewish governor of the most important swing state is likely Harris' leading candidate.
Shapiro, 51, an observant Jew and father of four, was elected governor of Pennsylvania in 2022 and has become one of the most popular governors in the U.S. He is viewed as effective and became a household name from coast to coast last summer after one of Philadelphia's busy bridges collapsed when a fuel tanker caught fire. Experts estimated that it would take months to repair and reopen the main road, but less than two weeks later six new temporary lanes were opened allowing traffic to flow alongside the repairs.
Shapiro was on site every day after the accident and became an instant star with the resumption of traffic. Since then his approval rating in Pennsylvania has been consistently above 60%. Pennsylvania will award 19 electors in the upcoming presidential election, and the state is critical for victory. However, state of origin does not guarantee victory. Al Gore lost in his home state of Tennessee in the 2000 ballot. Still, Shapiro's popularity and political skills are significant considerations.
One of those skills is his public speaking and communication with voters. Shapiro's abilities in this field have been compared with the rhetorical abilities of Barack Obama. He once jokingly referred to himself as Baruch Obama and was called over the weekend "a bad impression of Barack Obama" by Senator JD Vance, the Republican candidate Donald Trump's running mate.
Shapiro brings a downside to his candidacy with the progressive wing of the Democratic Party running an aggressive campaign against him for the past two weeks. Although his positions on Israel are similar to those of all the other candidates, Shapiro has distinguished himself by harshly criticizing the anti-Israel protesters on campuses, including comparing them to the Ku Klux Klan. He has also expressed his support for the war in Gaza Although he called Benjamin Netanyahu "one of the worst leaders of all time".
One way or another, Harris will have to decide whether the risk of alienating part of the Democratic voters that came back to the fold after Biden's retirement, is greater than the chance that the talented Josh Shapiro, who may even overshadow her, could bring her a victory in Pennsylvania and the ticket to the White House.