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Vice President Kamala Harris\u2019 choice of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz\u00a0as her running mate<\/a>\u00a0disappointed fans of Pennsylvania Gov.\u00a0Josh Shapiro<\/a>, who was one of Harris\u2019 finalists for the job and seen as someone who could help Democrats win a key swing state and make history by electing the first Jewish vice president.<\/p>\n With his history of winning three statewide elections in Pennsylvania, Shapiro was seen as someone with particular appeal to moderate voters. His state\u2019s 19 votes in the Electoral College have long been critical for candidates trying to reach the necessary 270 to win.<\/p>\n But the same things about Shapiro that\u00a0appealed to moderates<\/a>\u00a0angered some on the left in his party: his support for a private school voucher program and natural gas infrastructure as well as particularly his support for Israel\u2019s war in Gaza after Hamas\u2019 Oct. 7 attack.<\/p>\n Some Democrats lamented what they said was a missed opportunity by bypassing Shapiro. Republicans, meanwhile, tried to paint Harris\u2019 choice as a snub to Jewish voters, a traditionally Democratic constituency that former President Donald Trump has tried to court in this year\u2019s race.<\/p>\n \u201cNot only is he exceptionally smart and capable, but, in my opinion, he brought the math to the path of 270,\u201d said Ryan Bizzarro, 38-year-old Democratic state lawmaker from Erie, Pennsylvania, said of Shapiro.<\/p>\n Shapiro spoke at a rally in Philadelphia Tuesday night before the new Democratic ticket took the stage, with the Pennsylvania governor receiving big applause from thousands of attendees.<\/p>\n \u201cI love you Philly. You know what else I love, I love being your governor,\u201d Shapiro said.<\/p>\n He added, \u201cI am going to continue pouring my heart and soul into continuing to serve you every single day as your governor.\u201d<\/p>\n Shapiro also praised Walz as a great man with strong midwestern values, calling him a friend he said he couldn\u2019t wait for Pennsylvanians to get to know.<\/p>\n Walz returned the compliment when he took the stage later with Harris in Philadelphia.<\/p>\n \u201cMy God, what a treasure you have in Josh Shapiro,\u201d he said. \u201cHoly hell, can this guy bring the fire.\u201d<\/p>\n Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker, who advocated fiercely but unsuccessfully for Shapiro, also spoke at the event and said Democrats should not let Republicans and detractors divide them over the pick.<\/p>\n \u201cOur Democratic nominee has spoken and that\u2019s it. Period. End of story,\u201d Parker said.<\/p>\n A number of high-profile Republicans sought to seize on the liberal pushback Shapiro faced over his stance on Israel, suggesting Tuesday that Shapiro was not picked as Harris\u2019 running mate because of antisemitic attitudes in the Democratic Party.<\/p>\n Trump, the Republican nominee, has been sharply criticized for his record on antisemitism, notably his suggestion that there were \u201cfine people on both sides\u201d of an antisemitic march in Charlottesville, Virginia, and his dinner with white nationalist Nick Fuentes at his Mar-a-Lago residence in 2022.<\/p>\n The former president\u00a0recently suggested<\/a>\u00a0Harris \u201cdoesn\u2019t like Jewish people\u201d even though her husband, second gentleman Doug Emhoff, is Jewish, and seemed to agree with a radio host who called Emhoff \u201ca crappy Jew.\u201d<\/p>\n Ohio Sen. JD Vance, the Republican vice-presidential candidate, told reporters in Philadelphia on Tuesday that it seemed Harris didn\u2019t pick Shapiro because Democrats feared \u201cgrassroots activists in their party wouldn\u2019t take a Jewish nominee.\u201d<\/p>\n Michigan state Sen. Jeremy Moss, who is Jewish and was excited at the prospect of a Jewish vice president, praised Walz and criticized Republicans for framing her decision as a slight against Jewish Democrats.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve seen the discourse on the right saying that there\u2019s clearly no room for Jews in Democratic politics,\u201d said Moss. \u201cI defy any one of them to name a single Jewish Republican governor or a single Jewish Republican U.S. senator. They can\u2019t, because there are none.\u201d<\/p>\n The last Jewish Republican senator was former Sen. Norm Coleman of Minnesota, who left office in 2009. Missouri\u2019s former Republican Gov. Eric Greitens is Jewish, but he resigned in 2018.<\/p>\n Arab American leaders who had publicly cautioned against picking Shapiro countered claims that the opposition was based on the governor\u2019s Jewish background and said his positions on Israel and statements on campus protests went further than other candidates, particularly Walz.<\/p>\n Abdullah Hammoud, the mayor of Dearborn, Michigan, noted that the Arab American community overwhelmingly voted for Jewish politicians in the past, backing former Democratic Rep. Andy Levin and twice supporting former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, the independent Vermont senator.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s certainly not antisemitic to critique somebody\u2019s position on Israeli policy,\u201d Hammoud said. \u201cThat\u2019s just called stewardship and accountability.\u201d<\/p>\n Most Jewish Americans vote Democratic and are still poised to rally around the Democratic ticket, even without Shapiro.<\/p>\n Only 30% of Jewish voters supported Trump in 2020, while 69% supported Biden, according to AP VoteCast, a sweeping survey of the electorate. That made Jewish voters one of the religious groups where support for Biden was strongest.<\/p>\n The Jewish Democratic Council of America, which held an online rally for Harris last week, issued a statement in support of Walz on Tuesday, calling him \u201can exceptional choice\u201d and noting he and Harris \u201calign with the vast majority of Jewish voters on every key issue, including Israel and antisemitism.\u201d<\/p>\n Shapiro is a popular first-term governor who two years ago was elected in a battleground state that is seen as critical to Democrats\u2019 path to win the White House. The 51-year-old emerged in recent days as a finalist on Harris\u2019 speedy search for a running mate, winning fans in the party for his speaking style that evoked former President Barack Obama.<\/p>\n With his background as a former state attorney general, like Harris, he also stood out for his forceful defenses of the White House and critiques of Trump.<\/p>\n He is a staunch proponent of abortion rights but is also seen as a moderate on energy policy, a significant issue in his natural gas producing state.<\/p>\n Shapiro has professed solidarity with Israel in its campaign to eliminate Hamas and has aggressively confronted what he saw as antisemitism appearing at pro-Palestinian demonstrations. In recent days, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported on a column he wrote for his college newspaper saying Palestinians were \u201ctoo battle-minded\u201d to coexist with Israel.<\/p>\n Jonathan Sarna, professor of American Jewish history at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts, said that as the opposition to Shapiro over his position on Israel became more vocal, \u201csuddenly this decision took on new significance.\u201d<\/p>\n Nathan Diament, the executive director of public policy for the Orthodox Union, an umbrella group of Orthodox Jews in the U.S., said \u201cIt\u2019s a bit disappointing\u201d a Jewish candidate won\u2019t be on the ticket.<\/p>\n \u201cCertainly, it would have been exciting if that had happened for a second time,\u201d he said, referencing Joseph Lieberman\u2019s run with Al Gore in 2000.<\/p>\n Amy Spitalnick, the CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, said in a post on X<\/a> that it was \u201cridiculous\u201d for people to claim Harris, whom she noted was married to a Jewish man, second gentleman Doug Emhoff, didn\u2019t pick Shapiro because of antisemitism.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are two crowds using Jews as political footballs here: The far-left that singled out Shapiro (despite Israel policies largely aligned with Walz and others) AND the swarm of right-wingers now claiming Harris\/Dems are antisemitic,\u201d she wrote. \u201cNeither is credible.\u201d<\/p>\n State Sen. Sharif Street of Philadelphia said that Walz\u2019s values, including on abortion and gun control, align more with Philadelphians than those of Vance or Trump. And he believes his retail political skills will help carry the state, even without Shapiro on the ticket.<\/p>\n \u201cLook, Gov. Shapiro\u2019s a rockstar in this state. People love him,\u201d said Street, Pennsylvania\u2019s Democratic Party chair and the son of former Mayor John Street.<\/p>\n \u201cBut he will still be out there campaigning for this ticket. They haven\u2019t lost Josh Shapiro.\u201d<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n Associated Press reporters Tiffany<\/a> Stanley in Washington, Peter Smith in Pittsburgh, Meg Kinnard and Will Weissert in Philadelphia and Joey Cappelletti in Lansing, Michigan, contributed to this report.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nRepublicans try to take advantage of Shapiro not being picked<\/h4>\n
Shapiro remains a key Democratic asset for this year\u2019s campaign<\/h4>\n