Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro's path to prominence started in Montgomery County
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- There's growing speculation that Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro could be a potential running mate for Vice President Kamala Harris.
Shapiro is among several Democratic governors getting attention for the vice president spot. Just nine days ago, he joined Harris for Thai take-out at Reading Terminal Market after she spoke at a town hall event in Philadelphia.
The Keystone State is considered perhaps the most significant battleground state with 19 electoral votes, thrusting Shapiro into the national spotlight. Shapiro, 51, is the 48th governor of Pennsylvania currently serving his first term. He's become a rising Democratic star and was commended last year for his swift handling of the I-95 bridge collapse and the capture of escaped murderer Danelo Cavalcante after 14 days on the run.
Most recently, he's been involved in press briefings involving the investigation into the attempted assassination of former president Donald Trump, which happened in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Shapiro grew up in Abington, Montgomery County, and began his political career as a state representative in Harrisburg before becoming Chairman of the Board of Commissioners in Montgomery County. In 2016, he was elected Pennsylvania's attorney general and during his time in office gained national attention when he exposed child sex abuse cover-up cases by the Catholic church in Pennsylvania, identifying hundreds of predator priests and thousands of victims.
"All of the victims were brushed aside in every part of the state by church leaders, who preferred to protect the abusers and their institutions above all," Shapiro said on Aug. 14, 2018.
In 2021, he was sworn in for a second term as attorney general, and a year later, was elected governor. Shapiro cruised to victory over Republican Doug Mastriano, getting 56% of the vote. He received more than 3 million votes — a record he touts on his bio page saying that he "made history as the highest vote-getter in Pennsylvania gubernatorial history."
Shapiro is viewed as a moderate Democrat who ran on key issues such as protecting LGBTQ and reproductive rights.
Many believe Shapiro has his eyes on Washington; however, back in May during an exclusive interview with CBS News Philadelphia, he said: "I'm governor and I'm proud to be governor. God willing, I'm going to be governor for a long time, as long as the good people of Pennsylvania will continue to have me. I've got a lot of work to do here, and I'm focused on doing that work."
Hours after President Biden dropped out of the race Sunday, Shapiro endorsed Harris for president, saying in a tweet that he's known her for two decades and she's a patriot worthy of support and ready to be president.
On Monday at an event in Pittsburgh, Shapiro once again threw his support behind Harris and stopped short of answering any questions about joining her ticket if she won the Democratic nomination.
"All I'm focused on is defeating Donald Trump," Shapiro said on Monday. "I served as attorney general when he was president. I had to take that guy to court over and over again, by the way, won every single time, to defend our right to vote, to defend women's reproductive rights, to defend the rights of workers to be able to form and join a union. We don't want to go back to that."