Shapiro City Type | PA Bulletin 2024

📅 They are there 73 days until election day.

In this issue:

—Julia Terruso, Gillian McGoldrick, Anna Orso, Katie Bernard, Aliya Schneider, Sean Collins Walsh, Oona Goodin-Smith, pa2024@inquirer.com

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“Getting Things Done,” Chicago Style

Conventions are made-for-TV productions. Unless you’re a popular politician attending, then they’re made for networking and profile raising.

Gov. Josh Shapiro has been everywhere this week, making stops along the Magnificent Mile, Chicago’s posh hotel district along Michigan Avenue where many of the state’s delegations for the Democratic convention are staying.

He spoke about “getting things done” during early morning breakfasts, gave interviews to national news outlets and attended parties around town promoting Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Tim Walz, as well as his own administration — all before delivering a prime-time speech at the convention on Wednesday.

It’s clear to almost any politician that Shapiro has national ambitions, so his soaking up the limelight wasn’t much of a surprise. But his reception outside his home turf was something we haven’t seen much of. The reviews were good. Delegates from around the country, mostly party loyalists who tend to know Democratic political figures, really liked Shapiro. There were selfie lines and glowing reviews, eager handshakes and hugs among Democrats from some key states.

“I specifically wanted to be in New Hampshire this morning,” he told early voting residents. “Because when New Hampshire is in power, you all know how to elect a president and you all know how to get the job done.”

We also noticed some criticism: after Shapiro addressed one delegation, an attendee who did not want to give his name called him a great speaker but had doubts about his ability to network.

“There may be such a thing as too polished.”

The Latest

🎈Vice President Kamala Harris formally accepted her party’s historic presidential nomination Thursday before a packed crowd at Chicago’s United Center. Now that the balloons have deflated, here are our takeaways from the DNC and what it could mean for Harris in November in key Pennsylvania.

🎤 DNC Election Appealmaking Harris the first Black woman and first Asian American to be nominated by a major party for president was largely ceremonial. But it also meant a lot.

🛬Trump was in Pennsylvania twice in the past week, and he made clear why he’s become a recurrent visitor to this key state: “They say if you win Pennsylvania, you win the tournament.”

📱Trump also took notice of Shapiro, attacking his DNC speech in a tirade on Truth Social and calling him a “highly overrated Jewish governor.” Shapiro’s response: “This is someone who routinely spreads anti-Semitic stereotypes like this one.”

🐘 The cream of the crop of Democratic politicians gathered at the DNC (except for Sen. John Fetterman) and celebrities like Lil Jon and Oprah. But in all of this there was also a coalition of former Nikki Haley voters from Philadelphia and anti-Trump Republicans who rallied around Harris.

🚓 Among these anti-Trump Republicans:Former Montco Republican Party leader who said police were called to his home after he endorsed Harris, later lost his position.

📚 Most mayors of petite towns do not see the president States as often as Scranton. And as President Joe Biden delivered his farewell address this week, Mayor Paige Cognetti said the city was pushing for his presidential library and “starting to celebrate him and his legacy.”

🏛️ Across the Delaware RiverNew Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has tapped his former chief of staff to replace convicted U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez until the high-stakes November election. Rep. Andy Kim — the Democrat running for the seat — had a moment in the DNC spotlight as he reflected on the aftermath of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

✅ Fact Check

Claim: “Project 2025 would aim to cut overtime pay for hard-working Americans.”

That was Philadelphia state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, who spoke at the DNC on Tuesday and criticized Project 2025, a plan for a second Trump administration created by conservative groups.

✖️Check: Not quite.

The 2025 bill mentions overtime but stops miniature of cutting it. It calls on Congress to pass the Working Families Flexibility Act, a Republican-backed bill that would change labor laws to explicitly allow employers to pay workers hour-and-a-half wages instead of overtime pay.

Democrats oppose the bill, saying it gives employers the ability to deny workers overtime pay and effectively reduce wages. But that’s not what the bill says. The bill requires workers to agree to take time off in lieu of overtime, and the bill explicitly prohibits employers from forcing or threatening workers to do so.

Stock up

📈 Austin Davis: Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor also had a great week in Chicago. Davis is the youngest lieutenant governor in the country and the first black person elected to the executive branch in Pennsylvania (excluding state offices, where Republican Auditor General Tim DeFoor was the first black elected official in 2020). The western Pennsylvanian made his national debut Monday in joint remarks with other lieutenant governors. But he’s also trying to make a name for himself at home by trying to make a largely unknown office more relevant.

Stocks down

📉 RFK Jr.: Less than 48 hours after Robert F. Kennedy Jr. showed up in a Harrisburg court too overdue to testify in defense of keeping his name on Pennsylvania’s November ballot, major news organizations reported that plans to withdraw from the presidential race. Kennedy blamed the cancelled flight an hour and 40 minutes overdue for a hearing in Pennsylvania, The Associated Press reported. Kennedy’s independent presidential campaign was already in trouble when his running mate said he was considering endorsing Trump. Sources told the New York Times he plans to do so Friday — though they cautioned his plans could still change.

Political Translator

What he said: Republican Sen. J.D. Vance, Trump’s vice presidential nominee, held a rally in North Philadelphia on Monday. And before stopping for a cheesesteak on the way out, he made sure to mock Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s military service record, which has become a talking point among Republicans since Walz was chosen as Kamala Harris’ vice presidential nominee.

“Before the campaign ends, Tim Walz will tell the story of carrying an M-16 rifle through the jungle of Vietnam,” Vance said.

Republicans focused on Walz leaves the military to run for Congress just months before his unit was alerted to go to Iraq. Vance and Walz are both veterans, but neither has seen combat. Vance spent four years in the Marine Corps, and Walz spent 24 years in the National Guard.

What did he mean: “Tim Walz is a poseur for admitting his military background.”

What he said: During his DNC speech, Biden spoke of his 52-year career in national politics: “I was either too young to serve in the Senate, because I was not yet 30, or too old to be president.”

What did he mean: “The goalposts are always changing.”

The president, a former vice president and former U.S. senator from Delaware, was first elected at age 29 in 1972. And on the other side of his career, he faced the opposite dilemma as president, facing pressure to drop out of the race until he withdrew last month. It was one of the few times Biden, 81, joked about his age during his 45-minute speech.

📸 Scenes from the election campaign

The Pennsylvania delegation section was a popular (and crowded) spot at the DNC all week. Here are some of the things we heard in the audience:

🔵 Mayor Cherelle L. Parker asks who Lil Jon is as he begins his performance at a rally in Georgia.

🔵 Some are complaining that Maryland Gov. Wes Moore had a longer speech than Shapiro.

🔵 Many complaints were about camera people blocking delegates’ view (a disadvantage where Pennsylvania has better seats up front).

What will we watch next?

➡️ Polls and whether Harris predicts a post-convention surge.

➡️ Will the September 10 presidential debate at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia have a live audience?

➡️ Which newsroom will be the first to interview Harris, who promised an interview “by the end of the month”?

That’s all for this week. Thanks for following Julia and Sean’s coverage from the DNC floor, and as always, you can find our latest coverage at inquirer.com/politics. See you here again next Friday. 👋