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Theoretically, Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA) has a day job—governing Pennsylvania—but from his actions, you wouldn't know it. When he is not out stumping for Kamala Harris, he is busy telling her how to win Pennsylvania. He is absolutely not sulking about not getting his way (being chosen as Harris' running mate). He wants to show that he is absolutely a team player, even if that hurts him personally (If Harris wins, he can't run for president until 2032, whereas if she loses, he will probably jump into the 2028 race on, say, Jan. 21). His efforts to help Harris have not gone unnoticed.
Shapiro is not only barnstorming Pennsylvania, where he is popular and well-known, but also Michigan and Wisconsin, and to a lesser extent, some other states. He fully understands that if he helps win these states, it will help his reputation going forward. He is 51 and clearly has ambitions for higher office some day, first and foremost, the presidency, but he would (initially) settle for the Senate should one of those seats become vacant—for example, if Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) is disabled by another stroke.
Shapiro understands like no other that James Carville hit the nail on the head when he said that Pennsylvania is Pittsburgh and Philadelphia with Alabama in between. Shapiro spent a lot of time in the "Alabama" part during his three statewide runs, winning all of those races. He even won some of the "Alabama" counties and reduced the usual Democratic losses in the others. Harris is more than a little bit interested in how Shapiro pulled that off.
A large part of it was just showing up. Democrats rarely went there and when they did, they talked and didn't listen. Shapiro went and listened and is telling Harris to do that as well. She is definitely listening to him and is showing up. One thing he has emphasized is that in his gubernatorial run, he made a promise to open up many state jobs to people who didn't have a college degree. That was extremely popular in rural areas where people feel discriminated against simply because they don't have a college degree. Shapiro has urged Harris to make the same promise about some federal jobs. Does a degree in philosophy or French literature really make someone a better postmaster or EPA inspector? Harris definitely listened to Shapiro and has incorporated that idea into her stump speech in rural areas.
With Shapiro's guidance, Harris is not making the same mistake Hillary Clinton made in 2016. Clinton basically just campaigned in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. Harris is campaigning all over the state. These county maps make it clear that Shapiro knows what he is talking about. The map on the left is Clinton in 2016. The one on the right is Shapiro in 2022:
The first thing that should strike your eye is how dark the red in the middle is on the left (i.e., Clinton was walloped) and how light the red is on the right (Shapiro lost, but much closer). Consider Bedford County, in the southwestern part of the state, for example. Donald Trump got 83% of the vote in 2016 and Clinton got 15%, with Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson getting most of the rest. Clinton got only 3,645 votes. In 2022, Republican Doug Mastriano, who is trumpier than Trump, won in a landslide with 77% of the vote, but Shapiro got 4,721 votes. That is 1,076 more votes than Clinton. Those 1,076 votes are just as valuable in a statewide race as another 1,076 votes in some Philadelphia suburb. Shapiro gets that. Pennsylvania has 67 counties. An extra 1,000 votes x 67 is 67,000 votes. Clinton lost Pennsylvania by 44,292 votes. You don't have to do the math. We just did it for you.
Just showing up was enough for Shapiro to actually flip six counties that Trump won in 2016. They are marked with asterisks. In case you are wondering what that strange blue county in the middle of the state is, it is the well-named Centre County (British spelling was still common in 1800). Penn State University, with 50,000 students and 12,400 staff, is located there. The total population of the county is 158,000. This time you get to do the math.
Based on Shapiro's intimate knowledge of Pennsylvania, Harris has been campaigning in Appalachian towns, ancestral coal hubs, and deep exurbs. She is showing up in places where no national candidate has ever been and is sounding like a moderate, not a female version of Leon Trotsky, as Trump likes to paint her. She may not win these little towns, but the key to winning the state may be losing less badly, as Shapiro did in 2022.
Shapiro is also working hard to help Democrats in other races. Last week he was at a rally in PA-10, where Janelle Stelson (D) is trying to oust MAGA firebrand Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) in an R+5 district. Polling shows that Shapiro is by far the most popular politician in the district, with an approval rating of 67%. That is amazing, and his showing up to help Stelson and Harris could add some votes to both of their totals. (V)