Josh Shapiro’s hometown allies say they’re a weird mix of disappointed and ‘fired up’

Over the last two weeks, as Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro auditioned for the role of vice presidential nominee, it was abundantly clear where most of the top Democrats in Philadelphia stood.

“If you want to win Pennsylvania, there is no other candidate,” Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle L. Parker proclaimed during a rally last month.

So in Shapiro’s home of southeastern Pennsylvania, Vice President Kamala Harris’ decision to instead tap Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to be her running mate was a bittersweet one. His allies said Tuesday that while they will aggressively campaign for the Harris-Walz ticket, several admitted they’re bummed the hometown favorite didn’t get the nod.

That Harris introduced Walz as her running mate in Philadelphia — just miles from Shapiro’s home in Jenkintown — in some ways compounded the blow. Shapiro, who grew up in Abington, has deep ties to Philadelphia and began his political career in Montgomery County, where he served as a state representative and a county commissioner.

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“I was hoping it was going to be something special, that Pennsylvania would get to celebrate here, the birthplace of the nation, that our guy was going to be the candidate,” Philadelphia City Councilmember Jim Harrity said, “and it’s kind of disappointing.”

He added that he’d likely skip the rally and attend a community event instead, saying, “I’m going to continue to support [Harris] wholeheartedly, but I might take today to sit with my constituents.”

Shapiro himself showed up, delivering remarks to a raucous crowd and promoting Walz as “a great patriot,” saying he and his wife, Lori, feel “blessed” to know Walz and his wife, Gwen.

“They are outstanding public servants,” Shapiro said, “and I can’t wait for you, Philly, the rest of this commonwealth, and the entire country to get the chance to get to know the Walz’s, the next vice president and second lady of this nation.”

Almost as soon as the news was announced Tuesday, Shapiro’s supporters noted the options ahead of the governor, with some speculating he could be a nominee for U.S. attorney general if Harris wins — or a front-runner for the presidential nomination in 2028 if she loses.

”He’s young, still. Big things are gonna happen for him,” Philadelphia Democratic Party chair Bob Brady said of Shapiro, whom he texted shortly after the news broke. ”I told him ‘look, it’s not like you’re fading off into the sunset. You’re our governor. You’re No. 1 in the state. You don’t have to be No. 2 in the country.’”

State Rep. Mike Schlossberg, a Lehigh County Democrat who has advocated for Shapiro, said he expects the governor to enthusiastically support Walz.

“He’s too much of a professional and too dedicated to the cause of democracy and freedom to do anything other than put his heart and soul into campaigning for the Harris-Walz ticket,” Schlossberg said. “I’m sure it must sting like nothing ever has. But in politics, sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.”

Parker, who delivered remarks at Temple and called for Democratic unity, similarly said that Shapiro is a “consummate professional.”

“I’ve worked with him for many, many years,” Parker said in an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper. “We know, he knows, all of us are going to come together to ensure that we defeat Donald Trump.”

Others who publicly pushed for Shapiro said Walz is still a strong choice, given he’s a Midwesterner running alongside Harris, who is from deep-blue California. Danny Bauder, president of the Philadelphia AFL-CIO, an umbrella organization of more than 100 unions, said he sees the Minnesota governor as a friend to labor.

“He’s like a fishing hole, hunting, cabin guy,” Bauder said. “Honestly, other than Josh Shapiro, I don’t know that there’s a more Pennsylvania sort of person.”

Jamila Winder, the chair of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners, said she hoped to see Shapiro on the ticket and that his “track record” in the state would have given Harris’ campaign an edge in a critical battleground.

But she said she’s “confident that he will do the work in order to get two good Democrats over the finish line in November.”

And Neil Makhija, a Democrat on the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners, said while it “would have been special to a lot of people” if Shapiro were chosen, his constituents in Montgomery County are “fired up to elect Madam President Kamala Harris.”

”Tim Walz, from everything that I’ve seen, is a great pick,” he said.

Progressives, meanwhile, said Harris’ pick showed her team was looking for someone who could generate grassroots enthusiasm. Over the last two weeks, Shapiro has faced a torrent of opposition from the left wing of the party, which has been critical of his statements about the conflict in the Middle East, his embrace of private-school vouchers, and his office’s handling of a sexual harassment complaint against a former aide.

At the same time, Walz — who was barnstorming on television and doing near-daily interviews — became something of a favorite on the left.

Robert Saleem Holbrook, executive director of the Philadelphia-based Abolitionist Law Center, has worked with the Shapiro administration on criminal-justice policy and is a progressive organizer in the city. He said some activists were turned off by Shapiro’s tendency to “default to the center” and saw Walz as more willing to fight for progressive priorities.

Holbrook said some were also particularly bothered when Shapiro spoke about protesters of the war in Gaza in April, saying, “We have to query whether or not we would tolerate this, if this were people dressed up in KKK outfits or KKK regalia, making comments about people who are African American in our communities.”

“I don’t believe Walz’s positions [on the Middle East] are that different from Shapiro’s,” Holbrook said. “But those comments definitely contributed to a lot of the progressive uproar.”

Melissa Robbins, a political organizer and a former candidate for Philadelphia City council, said that while Shapiro’s popularity would have been an asset in Pennsylvania, she’s “elated” that Harris picked Walz, citing Shapiro’s stances on private-school vouchers and pro-Palestine encampments at the University of Pennsylvania.

”His position on that posed a potential threat,” Robbins said, “to take away from one of the most historic presidential campaigns that we’ve seen.”

Inquirer staff writers Katie Bernard, Layla Jones, and Fallon Roth contributed to this article.