Tom Pappert, reporter at The Pennsylvania Daily Star, said Vice President and the Democratic Party’s 2024 presidential nominee Kamala Harris’ potential pick of Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro as her running mate could end up hurting her chances in key swing states like Michigan due to Shapiro’s pro-Israel stance.
Harris is reportedly eyeing Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro (D), Arizona U.S. Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ), or Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (D) as her running mate.
Shapiro, who was elected governor in 2022, is Jewish and vocal about his pro-Israel stance, as he was a former volunteer in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
On Monday’s edition of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show, Pappert noted how the governor’s pro-Israel stance would be a disadvantage to the Democratic Party in the case he was tapped as Harris’ running mate.
Pappert explained how there is a notable population of Muslim voters across the nation who will not support a candidate who is sympathetic to Israel’s retaliation against the terrorist group Hamas.
“There are, so far, a couple of Muslim individuals, activists, that have large followings on social media who are saying that anybody who wears the uniform of another nation should never be allowed to serve in the White House. So I do think this is going to hurt him. We’ve already seen another Minnesota group say that his pick would be unacceptable and they might stay home on election day if Shapiro is the VP nominee,” Pappert explained.
In Michigan, where approximately 13 percent of Democratic voters voted “uncommitted” during the primary election earlier this year, Pappert said Shapiro’s pick as Harris’ running mate would “almost certainly” hurt the Democratic Party in the battleground state.
Real Clear Politics’ 2024 RCP Electoral College Map lists the battleground state of Michigan as a toss up state for this year’s presidential election.
Former President Donald Trump won Michigan in 2016 by 0.3 percent of the vote, however, lost the state in 2020 to Biden by 2.8 percent.
“Barring some very different circumstances between now and election day, I think [Harris] would lose Michigan. We saw President Joe Biden in the primary election, which he won, by the way, not Kamala Harris. We saw there was [a large] percent of the Democratic electorate in Michigan that voted for none of the above candidates because they were all too pro-Israel, including Joe Biden. If Kamala Harris picks a pro-Israel, former IDF guy, I think she’s going to be trading Pennsylvania for Michigan or vice versa,” Pappert said.
When it comes to other flaws about Shapiro being tapped as Harris’ potential running mate, Pappert pointed out the governor’s involvement in paying $295,000 to settle sexual assault allegations and his pro-school choice stance, which has been denounced by a majority of Democrats.
“I think what we’re seeing right now is a honeymoon period that Harris got after being anointed. So I think picking Josh Shapiro would keep this honeymoon period going a little bit longer, keep the race as narrow as it is. The question, of course, is whether or not that’s going to last 90 days until the election in November,” Pappert explained.
“I’m not quite so sure that’s the case. Josh Shapiro, despite only being governor for a year, has a slew of negative press behind him. He has a nearly 300,000 payment his administration paid to settle sexual assault allegations. He has the fact that he was a massive proponent of school choice right up until the unions came to him and said, ‘We’re going to ruin your governorship If you go through with this.’ There are all sorts of things about Josh Shapiro that over the next 90 days, if he is selected, I think we’ll wind up hurting them in the Keystone State,” Pappert added.
Watch the full interview:
– – –
Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Josh Shapiro” by Gov Tom Wolfe CC2.0.
