Concerns mount over one of Harris’s top choices for vice president

Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA) appears to be the favorite to be Vice President Kamala Harris‘s running mate, but not everyone is sold on him being the right man to join Harris on the Democratic ticket.

Harris is expected to pick her running mate in the coming days, ahead of a blitz of the battleground states and the Democratic National Convention later this month, but a handful of the concerns being outlined about the Pennsylvania governor.

Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) is reportedly one of the Keystone State residents expressing concern over Shaprio, according to a report from Politico. Fetterman’s advisers have reportedly relayed their concerns about Shapiro, mainly that he is overly focused on his personal ambitions, to Harris’s team.

Both Fetterman and Shapiro served in statewide positions at the same time, when Fetterman was lieutenant governor and Shapiro was state attorney general.

Another concern being leveled by some Democratic groups is Shapiro’s stance on Israel, which he has been a supporter of. Pro-Palestinian groups, including the Institute for Middle East Understanding’s policy project, have expressed their concern over Shapiro potentially being on the ticket.

“Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro is not the right candidate for the job & selecting him would be a step in the wrong direction,” the group said in a statement.

The group then pointed to Shapiro’s support for Israel and its right to defend itself, along with his past critiques of Palestinians in the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East. Shapiro is Jewish and has been outspoken in his support for Israel.

Past essays Shapiro wrote when he was in college have also resurfaced and caused controversy from pro-Palestinian wings of the Democratic Party. In one of the essays, Shapiro doubted that Palestinians would be able to successfully establish a peaceful state.

“They are too battle-minded to be able to establish a peaceful homeland of their own,” Shapiro wrote in a student newspaper in 1993. “They will grow tired of fighting amongst themselves and will turn outside against Israel.”

Shapiro has been a popular governor in Pennsylvania since being elected in 2022, receiving national praise for his handling of the Interstate 95 collapse in Philadelphia last year.

The Pennsylvania governor, alongside Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) and Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), are considered some of the finalists to join Harris on the Democratic ticket.