HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) \u2014 Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is running for a second term in the pivotal battleground state after a first term that put him on the Democratic Party’s radar as a potential presidential contender in 2028.<\/p>\n
He made the formal announcement Thursday at an event at a carpenters’ union hall in Pittsburgh and, later, at a similar event in Philadelphia.<\/p>\n
Shapiro’s announcement demonstrated a unified party behind him \u2014 including introductions by the state party chair, labor leaders and top local Democratic officials \u2014 as he ticked off his accomplishments during a nearly 30-minute speech.<\/p>\n
Shapiro warned that his opponents promise “darkness and division and extremism,” and \u2014 without mentioning President Donald Trump by name \u2014 he slammed the “chaos and toxicity” emanating from Washington, D.C., that he said threatened livelihoods, rights and freedoms.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: Security review planned for Pennsylvania governor’s official residence after arson attack<\/a><\/p>\n “Every step of the way, I’ve stood up for my fellow Pennsylvanians, sometimes in a court of law and other times simply refusing to back down, refusing to cast certain Pennsylvanians aside and always by speaking truth to power,” Shapiro said.<\/p>\n He added, “I will not let anyone mess with Pennsylvania and I will always have your backs.”<\/p>\n Although Shapiro hasn’t disclosed any ambitions for higher office, his reelection effort will be closely watched as another test of whether he’s White House material.<\/p>\n Ever since he won the governor’s office in a near-landslide victory in 2022,<\/a> Shapiro has been mentioned alongside Democratic contemporaries like California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and others as someone who could lead a national ticket.<\/p>\n Shapiro, 52, has already made rounds outside Pennsylvania. Last year, he campaigned for Democrats running for governor in New Jersey and Virginia, and he’s a frequent guest on Sunday talk shows that can shape the country’s political conversation.<\/p>\n He was also considered as a potential running mate for Kamala Harris in 2024.<\/a> She chose Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz instead.<\/a><\/p>\n READ MORE: As Harris closes in on running mate decision, some groups step up criticism of Shapiro and Kelly<\/a><\/p>\n A pivotal first term as governor<\/p>\n Shapiro’s first term repeatedly put him in the spotlight.<\/p>\n He was governor when Pennsylvania was the site of the first attempted assassination of Trump;<\/a> the capture of Luigi Mangione<\/a> for allegedly killing United Healthcare chief executive Brian Thompson; and the murder of three police officers in the state’s deadliest day for law enforcement since 2009.<\/p>\n Last year, an arsonist tried to kill Shapiro by setting the governor’s official residence on fire in the middle of the nigh<\/a>t. Shapiro had to flee with his wife, children and members of his extended family, and the attack made him a sought-out voice on the nation’s recent spate of political violence.<\/p>\n READ MORE: The growing list of political violence in the U.S.<\/a><\/p>\n As Shapiro settled into the governor’s office, he shed his buttoned-down public demeanor and became more plain-spoken.<\/p>\n He pushed to quickly reopen a collapsed section of Interstate 95 in Philadelphia, debuting his new and profane governing slogan \u2014 “get s\u2014- done” \u2014 at a ceremony for the completed project.<\/p>\n He crossed the partisan divide over school choice to support a Republican-backed voucher program, causing friction with Democratic lawmakers and allies in the state.<\/p>\n Shapiro regularly plays up the need for bipartisanship in a state with a politically divided Legislature, and positions himself as a moderate on energy issues in a state that produces the most natural gas after Texas.<\/p>\n He’s rubbed elbows with corporate executives who are interested in Pennsylvania as a data center destination and thrust Pennsylvania into competition for billions of dollars being spent on energy, manufacturing and artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n A repeat winner in competitive territory<\/p>\n Shapiro has enjoyed robust public approval ratings and carries a reputation as a disciplined messenger and powerhouse fundraiser. For 2026, Pennsylvania’s Republican Party endorsed Stacy Garrity, the twice-elected state treasurer, to challenge Shapiro.<\/p>\n READ MORE: Josh Shapiro wins unopposed Democratic primary for Pennsylvania governor<\/a><\/p>\n Garrity has campaigned around Pennsylvania and spoken at numerous Trump rallies in the battleground state, but she is untested as a fundraiser and will have to contend with her relatively low profile as compared to Shapiro.<\/p>\n Shapiro, meanwhile, keeps a busy public schedule and has gone out of his way to appear at high-profile, non-political events like football games, a NASCAR race and onstage at a Roots concert in Philadelphia.<\/p>\n He is a regular on TV political shows, podcasts and local sports radio shows, and became a leading pro-Israel voice among Democrats and Jewish politicians amid the Israel-Hamas war, confronting divisions within the Democratic Party over the war.<\/p>\n