Why Kamala Harris may ignore Josh Shapiro

Should Kamala Harris choose Gov. Josh Shapiro as her vice presidential running mate?

That’s what many in the media — both in Pennsylvania and nationally — are calling for. Shapiro’s youth and reputation for moderation and electability seem to make him an interesting contender. So does his status as the governor of a crucial swing state. If Kamala Harris is going to win in November, she needs to win Pennsylvania first.

But despite the buzz, Harris may conclude that she has better options than the governor. She almost certainly wants a running mate with a record of achievement. But Shapiro has only been in office for 18 months and has struggled to govern, despite very colorfully promising to deliver.

My colleagues at the Commonwealth Foundation recently documented what Harris and her vetting team are likely discovering. We compared Shapiro to governors in other states with divided government. Pennsylvania has a Republican-controlled Senate and a Democratic-controlled House, putting the commonwealth in a similar situation as Virginia, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Arizona, and four other states. Their governors have worked with the opposing party to pass numerous laws — from 162 in North Carolina to more than 1,600 in Virginia.

Yet, in Pennsylvania, Shapiro has signed only 111 laws through the end of June. That’s a pitiful record, made even worse by the fact that Pennsylvania is one of the few states with a full-time legislature. Every other state executive with a divided government has accomplished more.

And to be clear, this isn’t a Pennsylvania problem — it’s a Shapiro problem. Many of his predecessors in the commonwealth also faced divided government, including four of the last six governors. Yet, our research shows that they all signed more laws than Shapiro.

In failing to deliver on key campaign promises — like cutting red tape, lowering taxes, and delivering scholarships for disadvantaged kids — Shapiro now blames the divided legislature that he once claimed a mandate to unite. Unfortunately, rather than forging a record of bipartisan leadership, Shapiro’s office now complains that he’s the victim of “bad faith attacks from all sides.”

After capitulating to pressure from fellow Democrats in the House, Shapiro was forced to veto his own campaign promise providing Lifeline/PASS Scholarships to low-income kids trapped in failing and unsafe schools. In doing so, he violated the deal he struck with Senate Republicans, resulting in lost trust and strained relationships with the legislature. Worse yet, despite repeatedly pledging to “fight for your kids as if they were my own” and calling the scholarship program “unfinished business,” Shapiro again turned his back on our most vulnerable children by refusing to fight for them in this year’s budget negotiations.

Pennsylvanians are already starting to show how the rest of America would likely react if Shapiro joined a national ticket. In new polling, we found that 54% of voters either don’t think or don’t know if the governor has delivered major accomplishments. That’s not the kind of ringing endorsement that Kamala Harris wants or needs.

And even those who think Shapiro has delivered accomplishments are hard-pressed to name any. They generally praise his public statements or simply say he’s “doing a good job” or he’s “for the people.” Only 7% can point to a single concrete action: repairing the collapsed bridge on I-95 last year.

Rebuilding a bridge is undoubtedly important, but when it comes to governing, Shapiro has proven more adept at burning bridges with fellow lawmakers than building them.

These aren’t the actions of a vice president in the making. Just the opposite: They paint a picture of a governor who’s overhyped in the national media yet underperforming in his own state. Kamala Harris is surely giving Shapiro a look, but if she’s smart, she’ll pass him over for someone else — someone with a record of achievement.

It would be truly shocking if Josh Shapiro was on the national ticket in 2024. And if he doesn’t start doing the hard work to deliver moderate and bipartisan wins, he won’t have much of a chance at claiming any other national office down the road, either.

Erik Telford is senior vice president of public affairs at the Commonwealth Foundation, Pennsylvania’s free-market think tank.