Shapiro declines to say whether he’s interested in being Harris’ running mate

Gov. Josh Shapiro speaks at Castle Builders Supply and Trucking on Neville Island near Pittsburgh July 22, 2024 (Capital-Star photo)

PITTSBURGH — Gov. Josh Shapiro on Monday declined to answer questions about whether he’s interested in being on the ticket with Kamala Harris as her vice president, calling it a “deeply personal decision … that should be made really free from any political pressure.”

President Joe Biden announced Sunday he was bowing out of his campaign for reelection and threw his support behind Harris to be Democrats’ 2024 presidential nominee. The Harris campaign said Monday it had raised $81 million in the first 24 hours of her candidacy.

Shapiro has been mentioned with several other Democratic governors — all of whom have already endorsed Harris for president — as a possible vice presidential pick. But Shapiro is leader of the battleground state of Pennsylvania, which has 19 electoral votes up for grabs, and which both Democrats and Republicans have said is a must-win.

“President Biden yesterday endorsed Vice President Harris, as did I, as did many across this country, not only because of how honorably she has served in the past, but how absolutely ready she is to be president and to be the standard bearer for our party,” Shapiro said Monday. 

Shapiro spoke at Castle Builders Supply and Trucking, a concrete product supplier on Neville Island, where he and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan announced $396 million from the Climate Pollution Reduction Grant (CPRG) program for the state to reduce industrial pollution. The grants are funded by the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. 

“Last Wednesday, I had the privilege of standing up in south central Pennsylvania announcing the largest federal grant for a single transportation project in Pennsylvania history, the I-83 south bridge right there in Harrisburg,” Shapiro said. “Today, I’m here in western Pennsylvania, less than a week later to announce the second largest federal grant in Pennsylvania history, thanks to the Biden Harris administration, and thanks to them believing in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.”

Shapiro was asked what he discussed with Harris when they spoke on Sunday. “The conversations I’ve had with the Vice President are all about one thing and one thing only: How do we defeat Donald Trump? How do we protect our freedom, and how do we make Pennsylvania — which was the epicenter of the creation of our democracy 248 years ago and is going to be the epicenter of our politics today — how do we make sure that Pennsylvania elects Kamala Harris to be our next president?”

Pressed by reporters to answer, Shapiro continued to decline to say if he would take the job if asked, saying he did not want to engage in hypotheticals.  But during his remarks he made what sounded like the beginning of a campaign stump speech, praising Harris, a fellow former prosecutor, and bashing former President Donald Trump, the GOP nominee for president.

“We have both stood up for the rule of law, and we have always both been for the people– that is diametrically opposed to everything Donald Trump has stood for,” Shapiro said. “And I’ll tell you what I like our chances running a prosecutor against a guy who was a convicted felon 43 times over.” 

The Trump campaign did not immediately reply to a request for comment Monday.

The post Shapiro declines to say whether he’s interested in being Harris’ running mate appeared first on Pennsylvania Capital-Star.