As the cacophony of voices from the Democratic caucus grows louder, President Joe Biden resigning as the Democratic presidential candidate, there is speculation about what would happen if that scenario came to pass.
Although many experts expect that Vice President Kamala Harris will take the top spot on the ticket, but that’s not a foregone conclusion. And whoever the Democratic nominee is, his first responsibility will be to choose a vice presidential replacement.
Could this be Pennsylvania? Governor Josh Shapiro?
The first-term Commonwealth chief minister has been named among candidates for the position in 2024 if Biden decides to leave and join Michigan Governor Gretchen WhitmerMaryland Governor Wes Mooreand Arizona Senator Mark Kelly.
Harris’ elevation to the presidency would provide some continuity in the campaign, as the former California senator is already seen as a reproductive rights advocate for Biden-Harris. As the first woman, first Black American and first South Asian American elected to the position, it’s tough to imagine a scenario in which the former prosecutor isn’t the party’s pick.
Recent polls show that blacks overwhelmingly support Biden, and women also make up an critical voting group for the president and the party.
“I think a move to nominate anyone other than Harris to replace him could generate a lot more hostility,” he said. Jennie Sweet-Cushmanassociate professor of political science at Chatham University. “She is the heir apparent and should be treated as the heir apparent. The DNC is about a month away and it would be prudent for a new nominating agenda to be well-established and agreed upon, so I would say he will have to make a decision (if not an announcement) in the next two weeks.”
“I think the pressure is growing on President Biden to step down, and while I think he very much wants to continue this, the tide is building to the point where it’s going to be hard to continue this,” he said. Chris Borickprofessor of political science and director of the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion. “I imagine that if he does decide to step down, it will be around early August to give the party time to work out the details of the replacement process.”
Thanks to the addition of the senator from Ohio JD Vance as vice president from the Republican Party, some believe that this move by the former president Donald Trump as one of the participants in the Republican Party campaign in the key states of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin – the so-called “Blue Wall”.
Would a Democratic candidate for the highest office in the land consider picking a Pennsylvanian to facilitate him win one of the “Big Three” races?
Shapiro eventually embraced the idea of “showing up” in more rural parts of the state, such as Butler, the site of Trump’s assassination attempt. The governor won 43 percent of the vote from the community in the 2022 gubernatorial race — eight points more than Biden did in 2020.
“I think meeting people where they are matters,” Shapiro said. “Understanding their hopes and fears, their minds, the things that frustrate them, the things that excite them, makes me a better governor, being in their community, listening to them, and then being able to take those lessons learned back to the capitol to make new laws, make new policies, do shit.”
“I’m sure if Harris were nominated, her team would look for more well-known governors for the position, and swing states certainly seem fertile ground,” Sweet-Cushman said. “Conventional wisdom would suggest that picking a vice president from a battleground state would help the campaign in that state. History suggests otherwise.”
“If it were Harris, Governor Shapiro would certainly be on the shortlist, but I doubt he would ultimately be the vice presidential candidate,” he said. Stephen Medvicprofessor of government and director of the Center for Politics and Public Affairs at Franklin & Marshall College. “I don’t think Governor Shapiro wants this job. He’s only been in office for a year and a half, and he still has a lot of work to do in the state.”
Berwood Yostdirector of the Floyd Institute for Public Policy and the Center for Opinion Research at Franklin & Marshall College, agreed.
“I have a hard time imagining Josh Shapiro wanting to be anyone’s vice presidential candidate,” Yost said. “He would be a great choice, given that he’s a popular governor in a key must-win state for Democrats in 2024, but what good would it do him to be in that position?”
Shapiro has consistently served as Biden’s surrogate and supported the re-election of the 46th president.
“His star is certainly rising, and potentially joining a list of candidates with uncertainties about success would be a very risky move if his goal is to eventually run for president,” Borick added of Shapiro. “I think staying on as governor and building history in key swing states better fits his long-term prospects.”
In the history of the country, Pennsylvania has had only one vice president – George M Dallasformer mayor of Philadelphia who served as James Polk (1845-49). The community had three native sons run for office on the main party tickets, but they lack money – Jared Ingersoll (1812), Richard Rush (1828) and John Sergeant (1832) – but none in the last 192 years.
