Josh Shapiro’s VP tryout

This article was first published in the On the Trail 2024 newsletter. Sign up to receive the newsletter in your inbox on Tuesday and Friday mornings here. To submit a question to next week’s Friday Mailbag, email onthetrail@deseretnews.com.

Hello, friends. We’re just a few weeks out from the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, which will run from August 19-22.

3 things to know

• Not politics, but big news: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced Monday it plans to open a medical school at church-sponsored Brigham Young University. Read more here

• President Joe Biden spoke about his plans to try to reform the Supreme Court in a Washington Post op-ed. His ideas include an ethics code and term limits, but no word on if he thinks those reforms should extend to the legislative and executive branches. Read more here

• Shabbos Kestenbaum was a prime-time speaker at the Republican National Convention, where he blasted the rise of antisemitism at elite universities. He was met by cheering and a standing ovation. But what set Kestenbaum apart from other convention speakers? He wouldn’t endorse Donald Trump. Read more here

The big idea

Gov. Shapiro’s VP tryout

Josh Shapiro, the popular swing-state governor, is trying his best to play the role of a good soldier. Within hours of Biden exiting the race, Shapiro fell in line behind Harris, vowing to do “everything I can” to help her win. Over the past four days, he’s held three different events in Pennsylvania on behalf of the Harris campaign, including a Monday event alongside Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

But the more his home-state Pennsylvanians see him in action, the more those Harris events are turning into Shapiro-for-VP rallies.

On Friday, Politico reports, what began as a Philadelphia event for labor leaders and top Democrats delved into an impromptu Shapiro endorsement jamboree. Two top union leaders, the Philadelphia Democratic Party Chair and the Philadelphia mayor all publicly endorsed Shapiro for VP. They pledged their support to Harris, too, but “if they take our advice,” Philly Mayor Cherelle Parker said, “Josh Shapiro will be our vice president.”

Shapiro, for his part, deflected the praise. “I’m not going to add any political pressure to the vice president,” he told attendees Friday, saying Harris would be making “this deeply personal decision as to who she wants to run with.” He would leave the choice up to her, and in the meantime, he would keep rallying on her behalf.

As he does so, voters are dealt a similar phenomenon to what Harris experienced in the waning days of Biden’s campaign: the more Democratic voters saw Harris stumping for Biden, the more they wished Harris would take over for Biden. Now, the more voters see of Shapiro, supporting Harris is taking a backseat to hoping she picks Shapiro as his running mate.

The case for Shapiro, his allies say, is a matter of mathematics. Pennsylvania is a key swing state, and though Biden won there in 2020, he has consistently trailed in polls. We don’t yet have a good snapshot of battleground polling for a Harris-Trump matchup, but we can expect margins to be razor-thin — and a Harris-Shapiro ticket, on paper, would only bolster the Democrats’ chances.

Shapiro won the governorship in 2022 by 15 points against a Trump-endorsed challenger. In 2020, running for reelection as the state’s attorney general, he won more votes than any statewide candidate in Pennsylvania history. That year, he outperformed Biden, who ran for president on the same ballot, by a wide margin; in 2016, his first election, he outperformed Clinton.

But not all Democrats like the idea of a Harris-Shapiro ticket. Some have expressed concern over his handling of sexual harassment claims in his office. Others have launched a pressure campaign targeting his Jewish faith and his support for Israel.

Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-New York, defended Shapiro against the “No Genocide Josh” movement. “Every potential nominee for Vice President is pro-Israel,” said Torres. “Yet only one, Josh Shapiro, has been singled out by a far-left smear campaign calling him ‘Genocide Josh.’ The reason he is treated differently from the rest? Antisemitism.”

Shapiro is Pennsylvania’s third-ever Jewish governor.

“The antisemitic far left must never be given veto power over the selection of a presidential running mate,” Torres continued.

What I’m reading

• Politico writer Isabella Ramirez has a play-by-play of the 28 days between Biden’s disastrous debate performance against Donald Trump, and his decision to drop our and endorse Vice President Kamala Harris to run in his place — including the shocking assassination attempt against Donald Trump. Read more here about the “28 days that transformed the 2024 election.”

• Atlantic writer McKay Coppins looks at the prayers given at Trump rallies and what they say about the candidate and his campaign. Read more here for “a close reading of the prayers delivered before the former president speaks.”

See you on the trail.

Editor’s Note: The Deseret News is committed to covering issues of substance in the 2024 presidential race from its unique perspective and editorial values. Our team of political reporters will bring you in-depth coverage of the most relevant news and information to help you make an informed decision. Find our complete coverage of the election here.