So What’s Next for Josh Shapiro?

Vice President Kamala Harris and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro (L) speak to the press while making a stop at the Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, July 13, 2024. (Photo by RYAN COLLERD / AFP)

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So What’s Next for Josh Shapiro?

You no doubt know by now that Vice President Kamala Harris did not pick Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro to be her running mate. Harris chose Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. This decision has a lot of Shapiro fans disappointed. But at the end of the day, Walz was probably a smarter and safer pick. After days and days of breathless anticipation and betting odds consistently favoring Shapiro (hope you didn’t lose too much money!), we’re all now left to wonder what’s next for Shapiro.

Well, in the immediate sense, Shapiro is going to work his ass off campaigning for Harris in Pennsylvania. She needs to win Pennsylvania. And Shapiro, a relatively moderate Democrat who relates easily to both the city and the country folk, can bring in the commonwealth for her. Keep in mind that this is a guy who won his governorship with more votes in Pennsylvania than Joe Biden received for president here in the state.

Let’s also remember that Shapiro took office in January 2023. It’s a four-year term. He still has plenty of governing to do. He could run again for governor and serve two consecutive terms, as fellow Democrats Ed Rendell and Tom Wolf did. (The last Republican to serve two full consecutive terms in office was Dick Thornburgh, back in the 1980s.) And it’s hard to imagine that he wouldn’t win a second term in office, short of some kind of major scandal. But does he want to be governor until 2031? I’m saying no, and I’m in some pretty good company on that, when you talk to behind-the-scene politicos.

Then again, he might not even finish his current term in office. Shapiro reportedly made it down to the shortest of short lists, just him and Walz. None of us would be a bit surprised if Shapiro wound up with a prestigious appointment like, oh say, Attorney General of the United States. He was, after all, Pennsylvania’s attorney general for six years.

There’s also the prospect of Shapiro running for some national office, a prospect not at all hurt by his newfound level of prominence thanks to all this talk of the vice presidency. And probably not hurt at all by the fact that Shapiro is tight with Barack Obama.

Barack Obama hugging Josh Shapiro in 2022 (Getty Images)

Shapiro has been vetted. People tend to like him. Months before the Biden-Harris switcheroo that catapulted him into the national spotlight, there was already talk that Shapiro could one day be the first Jewish president of the country.

If not the White House, here’s a fun hypothetical I first heard floated this morning. It’s well known that there’s a rivalry between Shapiro and United States Senator John Fetterman. And we now know that Fetterman’s aides communicated the senator’s concerns about Shapiro as a potential vice president to the Harris team. In short, the two guys do not like each other. Meanwhile, some Democrats have expressed concerns that Fetterman isn’t all he’s cracked up to be. What if Shapiro primaried against Fetterman when Fetterman comes up for reelection in 2028?

The idea of a Fetterman-Shapiro battle royale may sound far-fetched. But this is America 2024. A reality TV star turned president turned convicted felon is running for president again (with Hulk Hogan and Kid Rock stumping for him) against a woman who didn’t realize she was running for president just a few weeks ago. Anything can happen!

C’mon, Phils!

In case you’ve been too mesmerized by the Veep Watch (or the Olympics) to pay attention to baseball, the Phillies, who were looking phenomenal, have lost seven of their last eight games. Ugh. They play the Dodgers again today… at 10:10 p.m. They’re not home again until next Tuesday, by which time I hope they’ve changed their trajectory.

By the Numbers

$75: What the PPA is charging for residential parking permits as of September 1st. That’s up from… $35! Now before you start hating on the PPA, that rate has been $35 since Ronald Reagan was in the Oval. In actuality, it should be way higher.

3.5 hours: One Philadelphia woman’s commute time to work. Yes, you read that right: 3.5 hours!

9: Median days on market for homes for sale in Ardmore. But Ardmore is actually beat by three other local burbs, which come in at eight.

Local Talent

You might be following the Olympics. But are you following Olympic romance stories? Kennett Square native Justin Best and his rowing teammates won the gold in the men’s four last week. And he decided to follow that up by proposing to his girlfriend in Paris yesterday. Yes, he got down on one knee. Yes, the Eiffel Tower was in the background. And, yes, it was all on TV.