Pennsylvania Democrats warm to Walz after Shapiro VP snub

PHILADELPHIA – Pennsylvania Democrats’ love of Gov. Josh Shapiro is not getting in the way of supporting Tim Walz, Vice President Kamala Harris’s running mate pick.

At a rally introducing the new ticket in Philadelphia on Tuesday, attendees sounded receptive to Walz, the Minnesota governor who competed with Shapiro to be Harris’s vice president.

Several mentioned his military background – Walz served in the National Guard for 24 years – while his affable manner won over attendees just starting to learn about him.

“I was like, who is this guy?” Gail Hannah, 66, said of her first reaction to Walz, before noting his ability to put the audience at ease.

“I’m impressed with his credentials. I think he can relate to the average American, and I love that he has a sense of humor,” said Hannah, a South Philadelphia native and retired behavioral health professional.

Paired with the interest was a note of disappointment. Shapiro had been viewed as the favorite in the veepstakes due, in part, to Pennsylvania’s importance as a presidential battleground.

But Harris went instead with a candidate whose reputation as a progressive governor had won him the support of organized labor and other heavyweights on the Left.

“I definitely get it,” said Danielle Bullock, a 54-year-old healthcare professional who pointed to Walz’s work making insulin more affordable. 

“I mean, of course, as a Pennsylvanian, I would love to see Josh Shapiro, because I think he’s innovative, he’s bright,” added Bullock, who lives in the Mount Airy neighborhood of Philadelphia.

“He can do wonders for this country. But this is Walz’s time, and Josh has a lot of years that he’ll be here.”

The silver lining of Harris’s choice is Pennsylvania gets to keep Shapiro for the remainder of his term, an outcome Margie Herbert, a special ed teacher who lives in the Philadelphia suburbs, called “bittersweet.”

“The selfish part of me didn’t want to lose him to the vice presidency,” she said.

But Harris got a taste of the enthusiasm Shapiro would have brought to her ticket at Tuesday’s rally. Shapiro introduced Walz and Harris in a crowd-revving speech that drew the loudest applause lines of the night.

“There’s no matching Shapiro,” said Hannah, who also attended his inauguration in 2023. Unprompted, she speculated he could be a future president. 

“Shapiro has it. He has that enthusiasm,” she added.

Shapiro came with perceived downsides, among them his Jewish heritage. He, like other running mate choices, is supportive of Israel, but he had been singled out as “Genocide Josh” over the war in Gaza.

One Philadelphia resident named Israel as the sole reason he did not want Shapiro to be Harris’s running mate.

Concerns that Shapiro would outshine Harris were also front-of-mind. Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), a rival of Shapiro’s, reportedly relayed concerns to her team that Shapiro is too personally ambitious.

The choice of Walz surprised many political watchers. He became the favorite in the final hours of a vetting process that also homed in a third short list candidate, Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ).

“I was caught off guard this morning, like everyone else,” said Crystall McDowell, 61, who expected Kelly to be chosen.

McDowell, a retiree who lives in the Philadelphia suburbs, acknowledged that she knew little of Walz before the announcement, though she appreciated that he brings “balance” to the ticket and resonated with his speech.

“I think, yes, Trump is weird,” she said with a chuckle. Walz is credited with originating Harris’s attack line that the GOP’s policies are odd.

Ultimately, Harris is betting that Walz’s rural upbringing and folksy persona will be enough to help in the “blue wall” states former President Donald Trump won in 2016, including Pennsylvania.

One attendee described him as “straight-laced” and another as your “average dad.”

Meanwhile, Shapiro has pledged to help Harris campaign in the Keystone State, with he and Walz praising one another from the stage on Tuesday in a show of unity.

“What a treasure you have in Josh Shapiro,” Walz told the crowd. “He can bring the fire.”