Tonight, Pennsylvania will take center stage at the Democratic Convention in Chicago, Governor Josh Shapiro will stand on the podium and deliver a prime-time speech.
The governor, who was in his second year in office, was considered second on the list of candidates, along with Vice President Kamala Harrisbut she decided to choose Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.
At his first campaign event in Philadelphia on August 6, he gave his full support to the Harris-Walz ticket and is expected to do so again tonight.
According to Scripps News, Shapiro will have a primetime slot, though an official schedule for Wednesday night has not yet been released.
Four senators – Cory Booker (DN.J.), Chris Murphy (D-Connecticut), Catherine Cortez Masto (DN.M.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) – will kick off the evening as House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (DN.Y.) and former Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) will follow suit.
Maryland Governor Wes Moore then it will be preceded by Shapiro, which will be followed by Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigiegformer president Bill Clinton and Waltz.
Over the past two nights, the Democratic National Committee has had difficulty getting its keynote speakers into the 10 p.m. East Coast TV window, President Joe Biden starting his speech at 11:30 a.m. on Monday, the former president Barack Obama starting just after 11 o’clock.
Shapiro briefly addressed the convention Tuesday, taking the microphone to cast Pennsylvania’s 178 delegates for Harris. He has taken time during the week to raise his national profile to address the delegation at breakfasts. Shapiro addressed the New Hampshire delegates Wednesday morning, saying he “particularly wanted to be here … this morning because when the power is in New Hampshire, you all know how to elect a president.”
