UPDATE: Harris selected Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate on August 6.
Well, Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is likely to be Kamala Harris’s running mate for the 2024 election. The governor canceled a slew of fundraisers next week, so the Keystone State is now a must-win for both camps.
Win Pennsylvania and win the election appear to be the pithy explainer here. In this state, Donald Trump was cruising to victory over Joe Biden before the latter quit on July 21. Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker posted and then quickly deleted a video that appears to announce Shapiro as Kamala’s running mate:
The pro-Hamas wing of the Democratic Party isn’t going to like that Shapiro, who is Jewish, is on the ticket. The Pennsylvania Democrat is a staunch supporter of Israel, which is anathema to this unhinged, vocal, and crucial sect of the party base. Yet, winning Pennsylvania trumps all else, and with less than 16 weeks to do so, the Harris camp appears to be catering to most of her party, which is pro-Israel, though they may be reluctant to say so right now. She can’t afford to be held hostage by this warped minority, though, one that could cause her problems in Michigan.
We shall see, but don’t be shocked if Shapiro is picked next week. It’s either that, or this was a promotional video for Shapiro, who never needed something like this.
I'm not convinced Parker knows if Shapiro is the pick or not.
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) August 2, 2024
My thoughts:
1. They are simply saying they support the prospect of Shapiro being VP pick (very weird way to say that)
2. They made the video just in case he was selected (doesn't make sense though why the post is…