Why I Don't Believe Harris Will Pick Josh Shapiro as Her Running Mate

Presumptive Democratic nominee Kamala Harris has reportedly narrowed her VP choices down to three men - Arizona junior Senator Mark Kelly, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro. 

Of those three, I am most enthusiastic about Shapiro. Perhaps his most significant achievement during his term as Governor was overseeing the rebuilding of a section of I-95 which collapsed in flames in only 12 days. 

And yes, I take pride that Shapiro is Jewish and unabashedly pro-Israel. As a board member of the University of Pennsylvania (albeit a non-voting member), Shapiro's criticism of then President Liz Magill's handling of anti-Semitism essentially sealed her fate. He also won praise for denouncing an anti-Semitic protest outside of a restaurant called Goldies, owned by an Israeli Jews. Shapiro then subsequently showed his support for the restaurant by buying lunch there.

Consider what I wrote a week ago when President Biden announced his withdrawal:

But let's assume Harris does get the nomination. Who does she choose as her running mate? I'd like to see either Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg or Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro. Either of them would tear J.D. Vance to pieces. Then again, I'm not sure if Democrats would accept a Jewish running mate or if the country at large would accept an openly gay man running with a biracial woman. Yet if that is the case then it says more about the country than it does about them.

A few hours later, CNN's John King said this about Shapiro when asked about him by Anderson Cooper:

Well, he certainly under consideration, I know that from key Harris allies. He’s a first-term governor, he’s Jewish, there could be some risk in putting him on the ticket.

Jeff Jacoby, the lone conservative columnist at The Boston Globe, remarked on X, "In America today, antisemitism on the left is a given." 

Well, certainly on the far left. A "No Genocide Josh" website has been launched in an effort to persuade Harris not to choose Shapiro to be her running mate. The website has been denounced by NY Democratic Congressman Ritchie Torres who remarked:

Every potential nominee for Vice President is pro-Israel. Yet only one, Josh Shapiro, has been singled out by a far-left smear campaign calling him ‘Genocide Josh.’ The reason he is treated differently from the rest? Antisemitism. The antisemitic far left must never be given veto power over the selection of a presidential running mate.

Now one could argue that Shapiro might not be selected by Harris because of his support for school vouchers . While teachers' unions are an important constituency of the Democratic Party, I don't think school vouchers is animating the far left of the Democratic Party in the way support for Israel does. 

As I argued yesterday, Harris is treating Israel and Hamas as if they are morally equivalent. If she is looking to put space between herself and supporting Israel, then she will not choose Governor Shapiro. Lord knows, she doesn't want a spectacle of Democratic delegates denouncing Shapiro's selection which would only reinforce notions that a critical mass of the Democratic Party does not want a Jew on the ticket. But given that Americans are more supportive of Israel than Hamas, Harris would be wise to ignore these considerations when determining Shapiro's virtues for the Democratic ticket.

This isn't to say that Kelly and Walz don't have their merit. If she selects Kelly, it might help neutralize some of the criticisms she received over her role as "border czar." Kelly was one of the Senators heavily involved in the ill-fated bipartisan border deal which Trump scuttled much to Kelly's disgust. Meanwhile, Walz is a successful two-term Governor. 

But if he were to be selected it would signal that Democrats are worried about holding onto Minnesota which hasn't gone Republican since 1972. Yet I think Pennsylvania is a far more crucial state for Democrats to hold onto than both Arizona and Minnesota.

I sincerely hope I am wrong about this assessment. Indeed, if Harris does choose Shapiro as her running mate while intensifying her criticisms of Israel, she can dismiss Republican critics by saying, "My running mate is Jewish. So is my husband." 

With that said, I hope she will both choose Shapiro while not intensifying her criticism of Israel. That might be asking a lot, but it would demonstrate that Harris has some backbone against the far left.