Editorial: Shapiro won’t be VP. What now for Pennsylvania?
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Gov. Josh Shapiro will not be the vice president of the United States. At least, he won’t be on the ticket this year.
The Democratic nominee and current VP Kamala Harris unveiled her running mate pick after two weeks of speculation. The honor went to Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota — not exactly a household name in the Keystone State.
Shapiro’s name started as almost a what-if. He was mentioned more than a little by pundits during speculation about a potential replacement for President Joe Biden after the disastrous June debate. He quickly moved to the short list of potential partners for Harris. Over the weekend, he was named as one of three people being vetted for the most important job interview in the country.
The interest was no surprise. Pennsylvania is the most important swing state in a country that pivots on electoral votes. The Keystone State has picked the winner in all but seven presidential elections since 1900. That’s 77% of the time.
Ohio has a more consistent history of siding with the winner. It voted against Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1944, John F. Kennedy in 1960 and Biden in 2020. But Ohio has become less swingy and more of a highly predictable lean.
That’s why former president and GOP nominee Donald Trump’s pick of Sen. J.D. Vance does little to shore up his candidacy. Vance is from a state that is already highly likely to vote for Trump. Ohio has Republican super majorities in its Senate and House and has had only two Democratic governors since 1975. Vance reflects Trump. He doesn’t change minds.
With Shapiro, Harris had an opportunity to move her chess pieces in a way that might recruit. He is more popular in Pennsylvania than his predecessor, Tom Wolf. He was liked as attorney general before winning the 2022 governor’s race. He deals with his opponents rather than goading them to sue him. He worked alongside Trump impeachment lawyer Bruce Castor when the two were Montgomery County commissioners.
Could all that make him more valuable to the Democrats in Pennsylvania than on the campaign trail? Is that why Harris went to the Land of 10,000 Lakes for her sidekick?
Shapiro may have good numbers in Pennsylvania, but he’s also complicated. He’s a deal-maker, but some of those deals — namely the school voucher issue with the 2023 budget — have rankled his own party. There is the question of support of Israel at a challenging time given the war in Gaza. There’s U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Braddock, reported as feeling Shapiro is too “ambitious.”
So will it hurt Pennsylvania to have someone else on the ticket? Not this year, certainly. Pennsylvania will continue to be the prettiest girl at the dance — at least until November — even with Shapiro staying in Harrisburg.