Shapiro blasts Trump on election lies, backs Harris while vetting of VP candidates begins

Gov. Josh Shapiro on Monday highlighted former failed court battles to overturn 2020 election results in Pennsylvania by President Donald Trump’s campaign while pledging his support for Vice President Kamala Harris in this year’s election.

Shapiro, however, side stepped a direct answer on whether he is interested in joining her ticket as speculation has risen that he is high on the list of potential candidates for the vice president spot running against Trump and Ohio Sen. JD Vance in November.

“What I am focused on is making sure we don't go back to Donald Trump's chaos, and that we elect Kamala Harris, next President of the United States,” Shapiro said during a press conference in Pittsburgh as part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s fifth Investing in America tour.

Harris is the presumptive nominee following President Joe Biden’s departure from the race on Sunday. A nominee will be voted on at the Democratic National Convention next month.

All of Pennsylvania’s 159 delegates on Monday threw their support behind Harris, who appears to have shored up enough of the 1,976 delegates needed to become the party's nominee in the first round of voting.

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The 51-year-old from Abington is said to be on a short list of candidates being vetted by Harris, 59, sources told USA Today Tuesday morning.

The list includes North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

Several political experts and Pennsylvania officials on Capitol Hill say Shapiro could appeal to voters from other states while some say he might need to be more progressive on some issues to be an ideal choice.

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While speaking at an event announcing recipients of EPA’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grants competition, Shapiro on Monday echoed his prior support for Harris while casting Trump as a threat to democracy and reproductive rights.

“I had to take that guy to court over and over and over again — by the way, won every single time — to defend our right to vote, to defend women's reproductive rights, to defend the rights of workers to be able to form and join a union,” Shapiro said.

During his time as the state’s Attorney General, Shapiro said his office fought 43 lawsuits alleging that the results of the 2020 elections in Pennsylvania were fraudulent. Trump won none of those battles.

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Shapiro issued an eight-page memo detailing numerous lies about Pennsylvania’s election results to the U.S. Senate during Trump’s second impeachment trial a month after the U.S. Capitol riots on Jan. 6, 2021.

While Shapiro didn't directly mention his name being on the short list for vice president, he did say that decision is “deeply personal” for Harris and one “that should be made really free from any political pressure.”

“I have all the confidence in the world that she will make that decision along with many others — in the best interests of the American people," Shapiro said Monday.

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Shapiro’s resume in a pivotal swing state worth 19 votes in the electoral college could be valuable to Harris and boost down-ballot candidates in Pennsylvania, some experts and congressional leaders say.

Shapiro has also received endorsements from some of Pennsylvania’s federal lawmakers, a growing trend for at least three of the seven potential running mates for Harris, Axios reported Tuesday.

Montgomery County Democrat Congresswoman Madeleine Dean, who stumped for Shapiro during his run for governor, said Shapiro would be a “superb leader” and a popular choice for Democratic voters.

Rep. Matt Cartwright, D-8, in Erie County, and Rep. Susan Wild, D-7, in Lehigh County, have also voiced their support for Shapiro, according to Axios.

Alison Dagnes, a professor of political science at Shippensburg University, said Shapiro is being talked about for vice president because he’s a shrewd, tech-savvy candidate with a streak of election wins.

"His social media game is on point," Dagnes told the USA TODAY Network. "I have gotten Josh Shapiro TikToks and Instagram Reels and Stories from students, former students who don't even live in Pennsylvania anymore."

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Shapiro won his gubernatorial race against far-right Republican state Sen. Doug Mastriano, of Franklin County, by 12 points in 2022 and polling by the libertarian-leaning Commonwealth Foundation have his approval ratings never falling below 50% during his term.

Chris Borick, director of the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion, said Shapiro’s disciplined campaigning and ability to stay on message have made him a “a rising star to Pennsylvania politics for two decades.”

There are some on the left, like Joseph Geevarghese, executive director of the progressive group Our Revolution, who think Shapiro will be too centrist for some voters.

“Any prospective VP pick, including Gov. Shapiro, must champion popular progressive policies like canceling medical debt, raising the minimum wage, and capping rent increases at the federal level," Geevarghese said.

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Shapiro pushes support for Harris as he's vetted for vice president