Gov. Josh Shapiro neither confirms nor denies he’s in the running for VP nomination

Gov. Josh Shapiro neither confirmed nor denied his interest in becoming Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate Monday, as speculation swirled around him and a handful of other potential candidates.

Shapiro, swarmed by national media at a news conference in Pittsburgh the day after President Joe Biden ended his reelection campaign and endorsed his vice president, said Harris will make the “deeply personal decision” of choosing who she wants to campaign and govern with.

“She will make that decision when she is ready,” Shapiro added. “That decision should be made, really, free from any political pressure.”

The governor’s remarks were his first since his name jumped to the top of lists of potential vice presidential nominees whom Harris is reportedly considering. Top Democrats in Pennsylvania are touting him as the best candidate for the job, in hopes that it could help them defeat former President Donald Trump in the critical battleground state.

Shapiro, a former attorney general and Montgomery County commissioner, refused multiple times to say whether he’s interested in the role, though he highlighted the commonalities between him and Harris. Harris is also a former state attorney general, and Shapiro said they have known each other for nearly 20 years.

The governor was also quick to campaign on Harris’ behalf — just as a running mate would. He outlined his own personal successes winning cases against Trump as attorney general in 2020.

“We have both stood up for the rule of law, and we have always been for the people,” Shapiro said. “That is diametrically opposed to everything Donald Trump stands for.”

Shapiro, who is often circumspect and typically declines to share details from personal conversations, said he spoke with Harris Sunday with a singular focus: their shared mission to defeat Trump in November.

“She has been preparing for this, and she is ready to go,” Shapiro added. “I’m proud to stand with her, as are scores of Democratic elected officials.”

Shapiro appeared in Pittsburgh with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for a news conference unrelated to Harris’ candidacy. Unlike North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear — both seen as top contenders for VP — Shapiro did not appear on national morning shows Monday.

Buzz around Shapiro has been growing since Philadelphia Democratic Party chair Bob Brady said Sunday that he’s publicly pushing for the governor’s name on the ticket. Other top Democrats have done the same, circulating a #HarrisShapiro hashtag, including House Speaker Joanna McClinton and House Appropriations Chair Jordan Harris, who both represent parts of Philadelphia.

Shapiro joined a call with 67 Democratic Pennsylvania county chairs held over Zoom to endorse Harris on Monday. He reiterated his endorsement of Harris and noted some of their similarities.

After he left the call, several county chairs, including Brady and the chairs from Montgomery, Blair, Westmoreland, and Crawford Counties all said they were advocating for Shapiro to join the ticket, according to participants.

The Zoom chat was full of “Harris-Shapiro 2024!” comments. And in a half dozen interviews with Pennsylvania delegates on Monday, every conversation about Harris pivoted into an endorsement of Shapiro as well.

The Rev. Mark Tyler, a delegate, pastor, and community organizer from Philadelphia, said that of all the “tremendous names in the Democratic constellation,” Shapiro “speaks to what Harris needs and who can deliver it.”

”I know this is probably faster than his own timeline he envisioned but if he’s asked, I’d certainly hope he’d say yes,” said Tyler, who said he has a close relationship with Shapiro. “I honestly can’t think of a better person who could do for her what she did for Joe Biden, what Joe Biden did for Barack Obama.”