By all measures, picking Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro to serve as Kamala Harris’ running mate in the upcoming presidential election would have been a tactically sound move for the Democrats.
In a country where every issue is fractured and split down the middle, Shapiro ranks among the most liked governors in the country and across party lines, a particularly noteworthy fact considering he governs one of five states that will decide the presidency in four months’ time. Highly regarded as a popular and effective consensus-builder who gets things done for his constituents, Shapiro won plaudits from all sides of the political spectrum for his handling of the Interstate 95 collapse just a year ago.
A popular Democrat governor in a swing state who is perceived as a moderate liberal, who has a history of bridging divides and even appealing to some Republicans? In a typical election cycle, you couldn’t create a more ideal candidate in a lab, and Shapiro would be the no-brainer pick in veepstakes prognostications. And for the past month, he was.
But after a torrent of pressure from the left wing of the Democrat Party that dumped truckloads of opposition research aimed at demonizing Shapiro, Harris announced on Tuesday that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz would be her running mate.
Shapiro and Walz share almost identical policy positions, particularly on Israel, where both are generally sympathetic to the world’s only Jewish state’s position in the Middle East. Shapiro has been far more outspoken against the government of Israel and Prime
