A Harris-Shapiro ticket? Pa. governor plays it close to the vest during Neville Island stop

A day after President Joe Biden ended his reelection bid, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro deflected questions about whether he would want to be Vice President Kamala Harris’s running mate were she to become the Democrats’ presidential nominee.

In an appearance Monday on Neville Island, Shapiro wouldn’t say whether he is interested in joining Harris on the Democratic ticket.

Biden endorsed Harris shortly after announcing Sunday that he would no longer seek the Democratic nomination.

Harris is quickly racking up endorsements from influential politicians across the country. On Monday, she secured unanimous support from Pennsylvania’s Democratic delegates.

Shapiro, who endorsed Harris on Sunday, has been rumored as a vice presidential pick.

During a news conference at Castle Builders Supply on Neville Island, Shapiro said Harris has a “deeply personal” decision about whom she would want with her on the ticket.

“And a decision that should be free of any political influence,” Shapiro said. “She will make that decision when she is ready.”

Josh Shapiro wouldn’t say if he is or isn’t interested in VP nomination. I asked him his advice for Harris for winning PA, given he got more votes here than Biden did in 2020 when running as AG. He said Harris doesn’t need his advice and knows how to win. Full remarks here pic.twitter.com/R62oHEcEd2

— Ryan Deto (@RyanDeto) July 22, 2024

Shapiro was appearing with Environmental Protection Agency Secretary Mike Reagan and Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato to celebrate securing nearly $400 million to cut pollution. The money will help industrial facilities like Castle Builders Supply run cleaner operations, and it will fund carbon capture technology to lower greenhouse gas emissions.

Shapiro took several questions from the audience, and virtually all were focused on vice presidential rumors.

Instead of tipping his hand, Shapiro heaped praise on the vice president.

The swing-state governor said Harris is “absolutely ready” to be president and act as the standard-bearer for the Democratic Party.

Shapiro said he spoke with Harris on Sunday shortly after talking to Biden. He said the conversation was focused on defeating former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee.

“We talked about how we can’t go back to a time when Donald Trump ripped away our freedoms,” Shapiro said, noting that Trump tried to implement right-to-work legislation. “We will never be a right-to-work state as long as I am governor.”

By not flatly rejecting being considered as a vice presidential candidate, Shapiro left the door more open than some others mentioned as being on the Democrats’ short list. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, for instance, said Monday she is not interested in being a vice presidential nominee.

And while he wouldn’t say if he wanted the opportunity, Shapiro acted a lot like a potential candidate during the rest of his brief trip to the Pittsburgh area.

Shapiro visited the Eat‘n Park restaurant in Avalon after the news conference. There, he greeted diners and talked to workers at the popular Pittsburgh diner chain. He purchased some Smiley cookies and sang their praises.

One young worker asked about gun control efforts, and he said he is fighting to keep guns out of the hands of criminals.

Shapiro spoke to Denise Mancini, 70, and Gary Thompson, 70, as they finished their afternoon meal.

Mancini said she voted for Shapiro as governor and attorney general, and she was thrilled to meet him.

“When politicians mingle with us regular people, it shows they care,” said Mancini, of Stowe.

Here is Gov. Josh Shapiro, smiley cookies in hand, and Lt. Gov. Austin Davis, doing a little campaigning and praising Harris during a stop to Eat n’ Park in Bellevue. This woman voted for Shapiro and told TribLive after she would love to see him run for VP pic.twitter.com/461fkTtfJV

— Ryan Deto (@RyanDeto) July 22, 2024

Mancini and Thompson said they would be excited to see Shapiro as Harris’ running mate.

Shapiro praised Harris to anyone who asked, and he told reporters afterward that her background as a prosecutor would be invaluable during the race, considering Trump’s 34 criminal convictions for illegally influencing the 2016 election through a hush money payment to a porn actor.

Harris, like Shapiro in Pennsylvania, served as attorney general in California.

“The vice president has done an incredible job consolidating the Democratic Party across the country,” Shapiro said. “To be able to pick a prosecutor against a guy with 34 felonies, I like that matchup.”