{"id":174741,"date":"2026-04-24T10:17:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T10:17:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/174741\/"},"modified":"2026-04-24T10:17:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T10:17:11","slug":"jewish-democrat-josh-shapiro-tests-political-muscle-in-pennsylvanias-midterms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/174741\/","title":{"rendered":"Jewish Democrat Josh Shapiro tests political muscle in Pennsylvania’s midterms"},"content":{"rendered":"

LOCK HAVEN, Pennsylvania \u2014 Josh Shapiro may be heavily favored to win reelection as Pennsylvania governor, but that doesn\u2019t mean there isn\u2019t a lot on the line for him this year.<\/p>\n

The swing-state Democrat, an observant Jew who was targeted in an antisemitic arson attack<\/a> last year, was considered as a running-mate to then-presidential candidate Kamala Harris in 2024, and is widely seen as a likely candidate himself in 2028.<\/p>\n

He has stood out among presidential hopefuls in his party for his continued support for Israel. A memoir published earlier this year discussed his Judaism at length and said that Harris\u2019s vetting team had asked him<\/a> whether he had at any time \u201cbeen a double agent for Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shapiro is just beginning to hit the campaign trail, and wants voters to give Democrats control of the Pennsylvania state legislature for the first time in decades. And he\u2019s pushing his favored candidates in competitive congressional primaries, an attempt to mold his party\u2019s slate in the midterm elections that will determine control of Washington.<\/p>\n

All of this means that, much like other potential Democratic presidential candidates, Shapiro is testing his political capital in ways that could shape his future and the party\u2019s.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tGet The Times of Israel’s Daily Edition
\n\t\t\tby email and never miss our top stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\tBy signing up, you agree to the terms<\/a><\/p>\n

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, who is also Jewish, successfully boosted his favored candidate in his state\u2019s US Senate primary. Maryland Governor Wes Moore failed to convince lawmakers to redraw the state\u2019s congressional map, while California Governor Gavin Newsom achieved redistricting through a voter referendum last year.<\/p>\n

Shapiro brushed off questions \u2014 and Republican criticism \u2014 about burnishing his credentials for a White House run.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe only thing I am focused on is beating my opponent for governor and helping other Democrats get elected here and sending a clear message to [US President] Donald Trump that the chaos, cruelty and corruption that he\u2019s been engaged in is not something that we support here in Pennsylvania,\u201d Shapiro told The Associated Press after speaking to Democrats at a packed coffee shop in small-town Lock Haven.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tPennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro smiles as he\u2019s introduced to the crowd at a Clinton County Democratic Party event at the Avenue 209 coffee shop, April 11, 2026, in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania. (AP\/Marc Levy)<\/p>\n

Shapiro has never said whether he\u2019s interested in running for president. But he does say he wants a voice in his party\u2019s future. Democrats need to figure out how to \u201cget stuff done\u201d to make people\u2019s lives better, he said, and he wants to be \u201cpart of that conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stacy Garrity, the Republican state treasurer who is running for governor, said Shapiro can\u2019t hide his ambition \u2014 and it\u2019s bad for the state.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all know that he\u2019s more interested in Pennsylvania Avenue than helping Pennsylvania families,\u201d she said in an interview. \u201cHe thinks if he can hand Pennsylvania on a platter to the Democratic Party, then maybe they take a harder look at him.\u201d<\/p>\n

A chance to demonstrate strength<\/p>\n

They just might.<\/p>\n

Pennsylvania is a hard state to succeed in politically, and Democrats around the country are taking note of Shapiro because of that, said Paul Begala, a Democratic campaign strategist, commentator and senior aide to Bill Clinton when he was president.<\/p>\n

The election gives Shapiro an opportunity to demonstrate strength.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now, Democrats, the thing they want the most is a winner, and a very close second is a fighter,\u201d Begala said. \u201cThis election is an opportunity for him to show that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tThe crowd reacts to Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro while he speaks at a Centre County Democratic Party event at the Penn Stater hotel, April 11, 2026, in State College, Pennsylvania. (AP\/Marc Levy)<\/p>\n

Shapiro is one of the nation\u2019s most prominent Jewish politicians as antisemitism surges across America, and he\u2019s made his religion central to his political identity \u2014 what he calls living his faith \u201cout loud.\u201d<\/p>\n

A political moderate, he stands out in part for the scrutiny drawn to his center-left politics around the State of Israel. When the Harris team asked him, \u201cHave you ever been an agent of the Israeli government?\u201d he wrote, he took umbrage at the question.<\/p>\n

Though he declined to explicitly call the remark antisemitic, he said he \u201ctold her how offensive the question was,\u201d and said the episode \u201csaid a lot about some of the people around the VP.\u201d<\/p>\n

A supporter of the two-state solution, Shapiro defended Israel\u2019s right to defend itself after the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack. He has also voiced concern for Palestinian civilians and criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a \u201cdangerous and destructive force.\u201d He has drawn progressive ire for his criticism of anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian campus protests.<\/p>\n

In a recent interview on the All-In podcast, Shapiro said: \u201cOn antisemitism, there should be no nuance,\u201d but that \u201cwe have to protect a place for nuance when it comes to Mideast policy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The governor was also harshly critical of the US-Israeli war with Iran, which he dubbed a \u201cwar of choice,\u201d and entertained the possibility that Netanyahu had \u201cbullied\u201d Trump into launching it.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tPennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro speaks during a B\u2019nai B\u2019rith Youth Organization International Convention in Philadelphia, February 12, 2026. (Joe Lamberti\/AP)<\/p>\n

Ahead of this year\u2019s campaign, Shapiro put his stamp on the Pennsylvania Democratic Party by getting committee people to elect his handpicked chair and plunging more than $900,000 so far this election cycle into the organization\u2019s accounts.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s on track to break his own state fundraising record and tells voters that Pennsylvania is the \u201ccenter of the political universe\u201d in the fight for control of the US House.<\/p>\n

Democrats want to flip four House seats in Pennsylvania on route to a hoped-for majority in the 435-seat body. Shapiro already cut an ad for Bob Brooks, president of the state firefighters\u2019 union, who is running in a hotly contested four-way primary for the chance to challenge freshman Republican US Rep. Ryan Mackenzie.<\/p>\n

Contested primaries and GOP surrogates<\/p>\n

Shapiro\u2019s endorsements haven\u2019t scared off Democratic rivals.<\/p>\n

Ryan Crosswell, a former federal prosecutor running against Brooks, issued a campaign memo that \u2014 in a veiled reference to the governor \u2014 said Crosswell has \u201cno party machine behind him, no power broker network, no favors to call in.\u201d<\/p>\n

For his part, Shapiro said, \u201cI\u2019m just focused on trying to elevate good people. Hopefully they\u2019ll all win.\u201d<\/p>\n

Republicans, meanwhile, have their own surrogates.<\/p>\n

Garrity said the White House asked her for a list of people she wants to visit Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n

Trump, US Vice President JD Vance and a number of Cabinet secretaries have already visited the state\u2019s contested congressional districts. Earlier this month, US House Speaker Mike Johnson made a fundraising swing through Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tUS President Donald Trump gestures after speaking at Mount Airy Casino Resort, on December 9, 2025, in Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania. (AP Photo\/Alex Brandon)<\/p>\n

It\u2019s quite likely Johnson will be back: Pennsylvania was his last campaign stop before the 2024 election.<\/p>\n

Trump and Vance could return, too, and in the meantime, the president is keeping an eye on Pennsylvania. On Tuesday night, he took to social media to take credit for a decision by owners of two coal-fired power plants not to close in what he called a \u201cBIG WIN for the Great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, which I love.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shapiro starts hitting the campaign trail<\/p>\n

As he begins to campaign, Shapiro is proving himself to be a draw even in Pennsylvania\u2019s out-of-the-way areas. Earlier this month, he helped pack a ballroom for Centre County Democrats and the coffee shop for Clinton County Democrats.<\/p>\n

\u201cI saw brand-new people, I saw people who have not been engaged in the party in years,\u201d Bre Brannan, Clinton County\u2019s Democratic Party chair, said. The crowd included Republicans and independents, too, she said.<\/p>\n

With a Democratic \u201ctrifecta,\u201d Shapiro tells audiences, he could get more done, citing legislation Republicans have stalled. That includes raising Pennsylvania\u2019s rock-bottom minimum wage and expanding legal protections for LGBT residents. He also has a housing affordability plan he\u2019s pushing this year.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tJosh Shapiro (r), Governor of Pennsylvania, speaks with Reverend Al Sharpton during the National Action Network (NAN) Convention in New York, April 8, 2026. (AP\/Angelina Katsanis)<\/p>\n

Consolidating control of the state Legislature would be no small feat. Democrats hold a one-seat majority in the state House and haven\u2019t held the state Senate majority in over three decades.<\/p>\n

Few Democrats in the party\u2019s 2028 presidential sights have an opportunity to demonstrate political strength and party-building aptitude in swing states.<\/p>\n

The opportunity could help Shapiro prove his mettle when the presidential campaign season cranks up and would-be candidates go in search of institutional support, endorsements and donor commitments.<\/p>\n

Pouring money into down-ballot races and flipping seats may not help Shapiro with the average voter. But activists, donors and other elected officials care a great deal about that, strategists say.<\/p>\n

Success would strengthen Shapiro\u2019s hand at a time when candidates are trying to win the \u201cperception campaign\u201d that they are the strongest candidate, Democratic campaign strategist Mike Mikus said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t guarantee anything,\u201d Mikus said. \u201cBut it is definitely something to bring to the table when you\u2019re lining up donors, endorsements and finance chairs, things like that. It\u2019s compelling to them.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LOCK HAVEN, Pennsylvania \u2014 Josh Shapiro may be heavily favored to win reelection as Pennsylvania governor, but that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":174742,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[78347,2258,78348,33,28,30,29],"class_list":{"0":"post-174741","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-pennsylvania","8":"tag-2028-us-presidential-elections","9":"tag-democrats","10":"tag-jewish-democrats","11":"tag-josh-shapiro","12":"tag-pennsylvania","13":"tag-pennsylvania-headlines","14":"tag-pennsylvania-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174741","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=174741"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174741\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/174742"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=174741"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=174741"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=174741"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}