Gov. Josh Shapiro avoided VP speculation after Democratic leaders endorsed him for the job

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro on Friday refused to engage in speculation that Vice President Kamala Harris may choose him to be her running mate despite standing alongside a bevy of Democratic leaders from across the region who endorsed him for the job.

“She is the Democratic nominee for president,” Shapiro told reporters after a rally with labor leaders in Northeast Philadelphia. “Of course it is her decision to choose who she wants to run with, to govern with, and to serve the American people with, period, end of sentence. She makes that decision.”

The governor said he hasn’t spoken to Harris since Sunday, when President Joe Biden dropped his bid for reelection and endorsed her to be his successor. He repeatedly dodged questions about whether he would accept the nomination if selected, and refused to confirm whether he’s being vetted.

Shapiro’s posture — essentially referring questions about the vice presidential search to Harris’ campaign — is slightly different from earlier in the week. On Tuesday, Shapiro said he had not submitted paperwork to be vetted. Asked again on Friday whether he had done so, he wouldn’t answer.

More than two dozen elected officials and Democratic leaders attended the event Friday hosted by the Philadelphia Building & Construction Trades Council. While it was a rally to endorse Harris, several speakers — including Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle L. Parker and Philadelphia Democratic Party chairman Bob Brady — endorsed Shapiro for the vice presidential nod.

Brady said Shapiro had nudged him “to be quiet,” but told a crowd of supporters: “To hell with that.”

“The road to the White House goes through Pennsylvania,” Brady said, saying Shapiro as vice president would be “a slam dunk, without question.”

Parker, who has known Shapiro since serving in the state House with him in the early aughts, said his presence on the ticket could lift Democrats in Pennsylvania, a critical battleground.

“If you want to win Pennsylvania, there is no other candidate in this nation positioned to help us win the White House,” Parker said. She cast Shapiro as a champion for workers, saying, “you have seen him use his role and the powers afforded to him to make government work for regular people, everyday people, and that is something I’ve always admired about him.”

» READ MORE: Josh Shapiro is getting VP hype for a commanding win in Pa. — against a weak opponent

Labor unions have in large part united behind Harris since President Joe Biden dropped out of the race last weekend. She is backed by the AFL-CIO, the largest umbrella organization of unions in the country, and has secured endorsements from national unions that represent the likes of service workers, teachers, government employees, and construction workers.

And on Friday morning, more than 50 Pennsylvania labor leaders signed a letter in support of Shapiro, acknowledging their political differences and writing: “Recent history has taught us that even amongst our brothers and sisters in labor, we are not always aligned in our politics.”

“That’s why it is more crucial than ever that we elevate elected officials whose leadership can unite our democratic coalition,” they continued, “and remind us that, above all else, we share a vision for a fairer, stronger, more inclusive Commonwealth and country.”

Shapiro’s appearance also came as critics from both sides of the political spectrum have emerged to oppose his nomination. More than two dozen public education advocacy groups — most from outside the state — published a letter this week urging Harris to select someone else, citing Shapiro’s support of vouchers to help families send their children to private schools. Pro-Palestinian groups and cease-fire activists have criticized Shapiro’s support of Israel.

And this week, the Commonwealth Foundation, a conservative think thank in Harrisburg, launched a television ad campaign in Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C., and took out full-page newspaper ads to portray Shapiro as a failed governor. They describe him as “Pennsylvania’s least effective governor in at least 50 years.”

Shapiro defended his record as governor Friday and took a jab at the Commonwealth Foundation, saying, “That group has spent millions of dollars to defeat me over the years, [and] I’ve never lost an election in Pennsylvania.”

He added: ”I know that people have strong feelings about politics, and that’s fine. I’ve got strong feelings about the record, what we’ve been able to accomplish here in Pennsylvania.”

Inquirer staff writer Gillian McGoldrick contributed to this article.