Kamala Harris will select her running mate ahead of a rally in Philadelphia on Tuesday, her campaign has announced, leading to speculation that Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro will be the pick.
Shapiro, who is Jewish, is on Harris’ shortlist for the spot, and he has already met with the presumptive nominee’s vetting team. Other contenders include Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and a few other names.
Shapiro, who is a graduate of the Philadelphia-area Jewish day school where he sends his children, has emphasized his Jewish observance in his public life. He would be the second Jewish vice presidential nominee on a major party ticket, following Sen. Joe Lieberman, then also a Democrat, in 2000.
Harris said on Tuesday that she hadn’t finalized her decision, and a Harris campaign aide warned against inferring too much from the rally’s location. Many previous vice presidential announcements have been made outside of the nominee’s home state, such as in 2020 when Joe Biden announced Harris, then a senator from California, as his running mate at a rally in his home state of Delaware.
But other signs indicate that Shapiro may be the pick. He has canceled a weekend trip to the Hamptons for two fundraising events just days before the rally — though a spokesman did not explicitly connect that decision to the veepstakes.
“The governor’s trip was planned several weeks ago and included several fundraisers for his own campaign committee,” Shapiro spokesman Manuel Bonder told NBC News. “His schedule has changed and he is no longer traveling to the Hamptons this weekend.”
Discussion of a Shapiro nomination has grown contentious among Democrats and campaign watchers. CNN analyst Harry Enten said he’s “clearly the best” choice in terms of the electoral advantage he brings as the ticket, as the popular governor of a large swing state.
But pro-Palestinian activists have pushed back on Shapiro due to his outspoken support for Israel and criticism of antisemitism at campus protests, dubbing him “Genocide Josh.” His defenders, in turn, have noted that all of the serious vice presidential contenders have pro-Israel records. Some commentators have suggested that the focus on Shapiro smacks of antisemitism.
Another line of criticism against Shapiro was gaining steam this week. Women’s advocates in Pennsylvania and beyond say he swept sexual harassment allegations against a top aide under the rug. The aide, a Republican named Mike Vereb, left Shapiro’s office last year, weeks after the office paid nearly $300,000 to a former employee who had accused him of making unwanted advances. Shapiro has batted away questions about the episode, saying that it is a private personnel matter.
“We urge [Harris and others vetting VP options] to consider the handling of past complaints of sexual harassment inside the Pennsylvania Governor’s office,” Emma Davidson Tribbs, director of the National Women’s Defense League, said in a statement on Thursday. “The American people deserve to know that, if called to a higher office, Governor Shapiro will do more to ensure the safety and dignity of employees, volunteers and constituents in his office.”
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