John Fetterman advised against Josh Shapiro’s VP pick, harkening back to past tensions

Senator John Fetterman reportedly spoke out against Gov. Josh Shapiro as a potential running mate for Kamala Harris’ vice presidential running mate, drawing public attention to venerable tensions between the two Pennsylvania officials.

Fetterman and Shapiro have very different styles and have publicly clashed in the past.

Fetterman’s concerns about Shapiro as Harris’ replacement were conveyed to her team through his aides, Political reported. Fetterman’s aides suggested the senator thought Shapiro was overly focused on his personal ambitions, according to the report.

It’s an open secret that the first-term governor has ambitions for higher office. But Harris’ search for a vice presidential candidate has him seriously considered to lead the country sooner than many expected.

Asked by The Inquirer last week if he had ever put ambition above personal relationships, Shapiro said: “I understand that right now, probably every moment of my life, people are judging me from the outside. And that’s OK,” Shapiro said. “It’s part of the business. I feel most comfortable with every decision I’ve made, that it’s always been about service.”

The reported hearings reached MSNBC on Monday, when U.S. Rep. Madeleine Dean said she was “baffled” by Fetterman’s concerns. The Montgomery County Democrat said concerns about Shapiro’s ambitions seem “misguided” and that anyone running for office “has to have some sense of ambition.”

“He is ambitious and wants to serve his community, no matter how big it is,” she said.

Dean, who called each of the men her friend, said Shapiro supported Fetterman “many times” and hopes the comments were taken out of context.

The 2022 election marked a political upswing for both Fetterman and Shapiro, who shared the ticket in contentious state races that went to Democrats. They occasionally appeared together at events during the campaign. The two men have since developed contrasting national political profiles, with Shapiro known for his moderate positions and political diplomacy while Fetterman has become a vocal advocate for his sometimes idiosyncratic views, regardless of who he might offend.

” READ MORE: What works for and against Shapiro in the vice presidential election

State Rep. Mike Schlossberg, a Lehigh Valley Democrat who is a supporter In Shapiro’s case, he said he “gave up on trying to understand what Senator Fetterman thinks a long time ago” and noted that Shapiro and Fetterman share similar views on important issues.

“We talk about ideological differences in the Democratic, progressive tent,” Schlossberg said. “… The best thing in the world for Pennsylvania as a state would be for our incredibly popular governor to be elected vice president. I hope we can put our ideological differences aside and advocate for our governor.”

Fetterman’s aides told Harris’ assistants that one of the major disagreements between the men had occurred several years earlier. when they served together on the Pennsylvania Board of Pardons, Politico reports.

Shapiro as attorney general and Fetterman as lieutenant governor were the only elected officials on the five-member board and approached their positions on the board differently. Fetterman chaired the board and was a vocal advocate for broader use of clemency, while Shapiro was often seen as less lenient.

Fetterman said at the time that he would run against Shapiro in the 2022 Democratic primary for governor unless more cases move through the committee, The Inquirer reported. In particular, he wanted clemency for Lee and Dennis Horton, the Philadelphia brothers who had maintained their innocence of murder for 27 years. Fetterman told The Inquirer in 2020 that “the trajectory of my career in public service will depend on their freedom or lack thereof.”

Shapiro initially opposed the brothers’ clemency application, expressing frustration over the lack of court transcripts, The Inquirer reported. He supported their clemency when it was reviewed, saying at the time that he wanted to interview the brothers separately and review information missing from their files.

” READ MORE: John Fetterman ran the Board of Pardons like an activist and sometimes tyrant.

Shapiro spokesman Will Simons defended the governor’s record on the board, according to Politico report.

“The governor evaluates each pardon case individually and on its own merits, and during his tenure as attorney general, he has approved more pardons and commutations than all of his predecessors over the past 25 years combined,” Simons said. “He is proud of his record of implementing significant criminal justice reforms while making Pennsylvania communities safer.”

Fetterman has not commented publicly on the idea of ​​Shapiro as vice president, while other Pennsylvania elected officials have supported the governor, such as Dean and Fetterman’s counterpart, Senator Bob Casey.

Fetterman’s initial reaction to President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the race and Harris’ endorsement also differed from that of his colleagues, focusing on his frustration with the campaign to pressure Biden into dropping out of the race. But he quickly jumped on board the Harris train the next day.

Co-author Anna Orso contributed to this article.