Shapiro, a practicing Jew and a popular governor known for his charismatic speaking style, had established himself as a fierce defender of Israel and Jewish interests.
Kamala Harris’s decision to pass over Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro for her vice presidential slot proved to be a critical miscalculation, with exit polling data revealing the choice significantly dampened her support among Jewish voters.
According to a survey conducted by the Honan Strategy Group for the Teach Coalition, Harris could have secured a commanding 53% to 38% margin among Pennsylvania’s Jewish voters had she selected Shapiro instead of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.
Instead, the Harris-Walz ticket managed only a modest 48% to 41% advantage of the Jewish vote.
Shapiro, a practicing Jew and popular governor known for his charismatic speaking style, had established himself as a fierce defender of Israel and Jewish interests.
He notably condemned anti-Israel campus protesters, comparing such demonstrations to “people dressed up in KKK outfits or KKK regalia” in a CNN interview.
Following Hamas’s October 7 attack, Shapiro took decisive action, delivering speeches at local synagogues, issuing strong condemnations of the terrorist group, and ordering flags to fly at half-mast at the state capitol.
Then-Republican nominee Donald Trump seized on the controversy, suggesting Harris blocked Shapiro from the ticket because of his Jewish faith, arguing she feared losing Muslim voters in swing states like Michigan amid heightened focus on the Gaza war.
While Shapiro himself defended Harris against accusations of antisemitism, the campaign never fully recovered from perceptions that she was soft on antisemitism and an unreliable ally of Israel.
Though some political observers attributed Harris’s decision to concerns about Shapiro’s ambition and the possibility of being overshadowed by her running mate, numbers don’t lie and perhaps Pennsylvania would have swung her way had she stuck with the right choice rather than conceding to Hamas sympathizers.