The path Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro projected for himself earlier this week — days after a “red wave” election on the national political scene that some believe he is destined to join — appeared very similar to the one he’s already been on for two years.
Work with divided state government. Get stuff done. Common sense.
Mr. Shapiro laid it out during a tour of the cavernous manufacturing space of Joseph Machine Co. in York, wearing his near-trademark blue suit, white shirt and no tie, and then spoke to a crowd of managers and employees. When a reporter questioned him about considering a run for the presidency in 2028, he spoke of staying focused on “results-oriented work.”
The governor, who will be up for re-election in 2026, said he planned to “bring Democrats and Republicans together, to make progress on common sense areas, to kind of forego the extremes of our politics, and instead stay focused on common ground.”
Nonetheless, in the political world, Mr. Shapiro’s name is national. He spent weeks in the spotlight as a potential running mate for Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, who ultimately chose Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. Observers believe Mr. Shapiro could be a strong contender for Democratic nominee for president in 2028, although many other names — including those of Ms. Harris, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore — are being mentioned.
Many in the state Capitol say anything like that will depend on his job performance in the years just ahead.
At about the same time that Mr. Shapiro spoke Wednesday morning, the group of people with whom he will have to bargain — Republican state senators — were converging on the state Capitol for the final scheduled session day of the year. The same Nov. 5 election in which Republican former President Donald Trump defeated Ms. Harris for the presidency had maintained Republicans’ control of the state Senate and Democrats of the House.
The split means many of the governor’s biggest lifts in 2025 likely will involve negotiating with Senate Republicans.
Westmoreland County’s Kim Ward, a Republican who became the first female Senate president pro tempore at the same time Mr. Shapiro became governor in early 2023, said he has to stay focused on Pennsylvania.
“If the governor has a bigger profile nationally, that doesn’t affect us here,” Ms. Ward said. A few months ago, just after Ms. Harris concluded her running mate selection process, Ms. Ward said a lot of what Mr. Shapiro has done as governor “is based on his ambition to get to higher office.”
Mr. Shapiro and his style of governing have courted national attention almost from the start.
Less than 10 months into his administration, he spoke at the annual convention of the New Hampshire Democratic Party — the state that holds the first in the sequence of presidential primary elections. Longtime political observer Charlie Dent, a former Republican congressman from Pennsylvania and now vice president of The Aspen Institute, a nonprofit, said Mr. Shapiro is perceived “to be in the more moderate wing of the party and not in the identity politics crowd.”
The longest-serving member among the 203 in the state House, 39-year Democratic Rep. Bob Freeman of Northampton County, said Mr. Shapiro has proven adept at orchestrating compromise.
“He is going a great job, and it shows in how he is perceived in the polls,” Mr. Freeman said.
A Muhlenberg College poll of likely Pennsylvania voters conducted in late October found 59% approved of Mr. Shapiro job performance, while 28% disapproved.
Mr. Shapiro, 51, is a family man. He and wife, Lori, have four children. He’s also viewed as a defender of his Jewish faith. He spoke out against anti-Semitic, threatening behavior on college campuses tied to the war triggered by the Oct. 7, 2023 terrorist attack on Israel.
He is widely acknowledged as a clear and effective public speaker, adept at engaging with people who can advance his priorities, and an accomplished administrator. He spent six years as attorney general, leading an office of several hundred prosecutors, investigators, agents, support staff and others. He previously was a state representative and a Montgomery County commissioner.
His first real test as state leader during an emergency started just before 9 p.m. on the third Friday of his governorship — Feb. 3, 2023 — when dozens of railroad cars, including 11 carrying hazardous materials, went off the tracks just across the state line in East Palestine, Ohio. Mr. Shapiro got generally good marks for his response.
Months later, he was able to point with pride at the reopening of I-95 in Philadelphia less than two weeks after it was closed by a deadly collapse.
This year, he signed a budget bill on July 11 — much sooner than the previous year — and it included a huge boost in K-12 education funding. And he has continued to criss-cross the state tirelessly, making appearances in schools, parks and workplaces like Joseph Machine in York County.
He also has had rough spots. In his first year, he vetoed a line item in the state budget that would have funded a voucher-style scholarship program that would have let children in low-performing schools attend private ones.
Mr. Shapiro had previously supported the concept. Republicans claimed Mr. Shapiro had gone back on a deal and one called the move “historic in its stupidity.”
A top aide, former Secretary of Legislative Affairs Mike Vereb, resigned after being the subject of a sexual harassment claim that led to a $295,000 settlement. Media outlets have pointed to a penchant for secrecy in his administration.
Mr. Shapiro will face a new wrinkle in January: the second presidency of Donald Trump, against whom Mr. Shapiro campaigned for months as he backed Ms. Harris and other Democrats. Mr. Shapiro was asked Wednesday about President-elect Trump’s earlier statements that he intended to deport illegal immigrants.
Mr. Shapiro said, “Let’s wait and see what the president-elect’s plans actually are on that front.”
Former Republican Rep. Stan Saylor of York County, who until late 2022 chaired the House Appropriations Committee, said he worked with Mr. Shapiro many times. The governor’s shot at higher office, in Mr. Saylor’s view, will be determined in part by how well he works with the divided Legislature.
But beyond that, Mr. Saylor said he believed Trump’s victory in the presidential race flowed out of support from working-class men and women, and Mr. Saylor said Mr. Shapiro will need the support of those same people.
Mr. Shapiro’s challenge if he desires the presidency, Mr. Saylor said, will be “whether he can reconnect the Democratic party to the working men and women.”
Former Democratic Sen. Andy Dinniman of Chester County said he thinks Mr. Shapiro has positioned himself well for a potential 2028 presidential run. The record he compiles in the next few years with the divided Legislature, though, will be crucial.
“He is going to have to use all of his considerable skills in bringing about a consensus so citizens in Pennsylvania and the nation see it as a place where results happen,” Mr. Dinniman said.
First Published: November 16, 2024, 10:30 a.m.
Updated: November 18, 2024, 4:47 p.m.
