By MARC LEVY<\/p>\n
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) \u2014 Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro<\/a> is running for a second term in the pivotal battleground state after a first term that put him on the Democratic Party\u2019s radar as a potential presidential contender in 2028.<\/p>\n He made the formal announcement Thursday at an event at a carpenters\u2019 union hall in Pittsburgh and was to appear later at a similar event in Philadelphia. Shapiro\u2019s 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 \u201cdarkness and division and extremism,\u201d and \u2014 without mentioning President Donald Trump by name \u2014 he slammed the \u201cchaos and toxicity\u201d emanating from Washington, D.C., that he said threatened livelihoods, rights and freedoms.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery step of the way, I\u2019ve 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,\u201d Shapiro said. <\/p>\n He added, \u201cI will not let anyone mess with Pennsylvania and I will always have your backs.\u201d<\/p>\n Although Shapiro hasn\u2019t disclosed any ambitions for higher office, his reelection effort will be closely watched as another test of whether he\u2019s White House material.<\/p>\n Ever since he won the governor\u2019s office in a near-landslide victory in 2022<\/a>, Shapiro has been mentioned alongside Democratic contemporaries like California Gov. Gavin Newsom<\/a>, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker<\/a>, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore<\/a> and others as someone who could lead a national ticket.<\/a><\/p>\n Shapiro, 52, has already made rounds outside Pennsylvania. Last year, he campaigned for Democrats running for governor in New Jersey<\/a> and Virginia<\/a>, and he\u2019s a frequent guest on Sunday talk shows that can shape the country\u2019s political conversation. <\/p>\n He was also considered as a potential running mate for Kamala Harris in 2024. She chose<\/a> Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz instead. <\/p>\n A pivotal first term as governor<\/p>\n Shapiro\u2019s first-term repeatedly put him in the spotlight. <\/p>\n He was governor when Pennsylvania was the site of the first attempted assassination<\/a> of Trump; the capture of Luigi Mangione<\/a> for allegedly killing United Healthcare chief executive Brian Thompson; and the murder of three police officers<\/a> in the state\u2019s deadliest day for law enforcement since 2009.<\/p>\n Last year, an arsonist<\/a> tried to kill Shapiro by setting the governor\u2019s official residence on fire<\/a> in the middle of the night. Shapiro had to flee with his wife, children and members of his extended family, and the attack made him a sought-out voice<\/a> on the nation\u2019s recent spate of political violence.<\/p>\n As Shapiro settled into the governor\u2019s office, he shed his buttoned-down public demeanor and became more plain-spoken.<\/p>\n He pushed to quickly reopen a collapsed section<\/a> of Interstate 95 in Philadelphia, debuting his new and profane governing slogan<\/a> \u2014 \u201cget s\u2014- done\u201d \u2014 at a ceremony for the completed project. <\/p>\n He crossed the partisan divide over school choice<\/a> 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<\/a> in a state with a politically divided Legislature, and positions himself as a moderate on energy issues<\/a> in a state that produces the most natural gas after Texas. <\/p>\n He\u2019s rubbed elbows with corporate executives who are interested in Pennsylvania<\/a> as a data center destination<\/a> and thrust Pennsylvania into competition<\/a> for billions of dollars being spent on energy<\/a>, manufacturing and artificial intelligence.<\/a><\/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<\/a> and powerhouse fundraiser<\/a>. For 2026, Pennsylvania\u2019s Republican Party endorsed Stacy Garrity<\/a>, the twice-elected state treasurer, to challenge Shapiro.<\/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<\/a> 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 He has tempered it with calls for more aid for Gaza\u2019s residents and criticism of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s handling of the war<\/a>, but some activists argued against him being the party\u2019s nominee for vice president in 2024. <\/p>\n Harris, in her recent book, wrote that she passed on Shapiro after determining that he wouldn\u2019t be a good fit for the role. <\/p>\n Shapiro, she wrote, \u201cmused that he would want to be in the room for every decision,\u201d and she \u201chad a nagging concern that he would be unable to settle for a role as number two and that it would wear on our partnership.\u201d Shapiro disputed the characterization.<\/p>\n An audition on the 2026 campaign trail<\/p>\n In a September appearance on NBC News\u2019 \u201cMeet the Press,\u201d the host, Kristen Welker, asked him whether he\u2019d commit to serving a full second term as governor and whether he\u2019d rule out running for president in 2028.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m focused on doing my work here,\u201d he said, sidestepping the questions.<\/p>\n His supposed White House aspirations \u2014 which he\u2019s never actually admitted to in public \u2014 are also mentioned frequently by Garrity.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need somebody that is more interested in Pennsylvania and not on Pennsylvania Avenue,\u201d Garrity said recently on a radio show in Philadelphia. On Thursday, the Republican Governors Association accused Shapiro of being \u201cmore focused on his political ambitions\u201d than leading Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n For his part, Shapiro criticizes Garrity as too eager to get Trump\u2019s endorsement to be an effective advocate for Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n In any case, the campaign trail could afford Shapiro an opportunity to audition for a White House run.<\/p>\n For one thing, Shapiro has been unafraid to criticize Trump, even in a swing state won by Trump in 2024. As governor, Shapiro has joined or filed more than a dozen lawsuits against Trump\u2019s administration, primarily for holding up funding to states. <\/p>\n He has lambasted Trump\u2019s tariffs as \u201creckless\u201d and \u201cdangerous,\u201d Trump\u2019s threats to revoke TV broadcast licenses<\/a> as an \u201cattempt to stifle dissent\u201d and Trump\u2019s equivocation on political violence<\/a> as failing the \u201cleadership test\u201d and \u201cmaking everyone less safe.\u201d<\/p>\n Many of Shapiro\u2019s would-be competitors in a Democratic primary<\/a> won\u2019t have to run for office before then. <\/p>\n Newsom is term-limited, for instance. Others \u2014 like ex-Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg<\/a> \u2014 aren\u2019t in public office. A couple of other governors in the 2028 conversation \u2014 Moore and Pritzker \u2014 are running for reelection this year.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n Follow Marc Levy at http:\/\/twitter.com\/timelywriter<\/a><\/p>\n \t\t\t