By: Pryor Arnold and Warren Smith
Thursday night, the democratic national committee voted to confirm Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro as their 2028 nominee for president of the United States. Beating out Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer, Former Vice President Kamala Harris, and Maryland governor Wes Moore. The election came down to a nail biting contest between Wes Moore and Josh Shaprio with Shapiro narrowly coming out on top. Shapiro the next day appointed Wes Moore to be his running mate in the general election.
Josh Shapiro is known for his bipartisan pragmatism and term as Pennsylvania attorney general where he led the investigation into the Catholic Church minor sexual abuse scandel. In 2022, he won the Pennsylvania governor race by 15 points, the largest margin in the state's history. He was strongly considered as a running mate for Kamala Harris in 2024, but Minnisoda governor Tim Walz was chosen instead. Delegates at the convention were impressed by Team Shapiro's cogent and articulate speaking. Delegate Mohammed Badri stood out in the minds of the voters for his eloquent and effective defense in favor of his candidate. However delegates who were interviewed concentrated on perceived negatives for Moore rather than positives for Shapiro. One delegate said that they were voting for the “lesser of two evils.” Delegates didn't like the approach that Wes Moore’s team used. During Moore’s debate against Kamala Harris his team used multiple attacks that irked those delegates in the wrong way. They also called her a fascist which was a step too far for many of the DNC voters.
In an interview with campaign staffers, delegates carefully laid out the priority areas of Governor Shapiro’s candidacy. These included pushing for bipartisan legislation and a pro-business fiscal attitude. They mentioned that they would cut corporate taxes similarly to what Shapiro did in his home state of Pennsylvania. They talked about mending the rift between the two parties. One staffer said that they wanted to“[make] Americans not scared of political views,” adding,“Everyone wants the best for people.” During our interview, we were able to ask the team about some of the more contentious aspects of Shapiro’s candidacy. When asked about how Shapiro would relate to young voters who are uncomfortable with the United States’ relationship with Israel, Shapiro whose first job in government was working in the Israeli embassy in D.C. began by emphasizing his faith as a Jewish man as he went on to lay out his support for a two-state solution, saying he has a long history in government of bringing people together as a “dealmaker.” The team however did not shy away from condemning the Israeli government with one senior delegate calling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a “War Criminal.” We also asked about the recent $295k settlement his office agreed to over a Sexual assault claim filed in 2017. Shapiro has faced personal criticism over the case, and the National Women’s Defense League said in a statement that “Shapiro should have done more in response” when asked, his office had no comment.
Friday night the election for vice president was held. The DNC was deciding between Boston Mayor Michell Wu, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, Maryland governor Wes Moore, billionaire businessman Mark Cuban, and former secretary of commerce Gina Raimondo. In the first vote, Gina Raimondo and Michelle Wu were eliminated from contention. Then, with the last three candidates, a rank choice vote was held. Mark Cuban was initially in the lead, but after Andy Beshear was eliminated, Wes Moore emerged as the front runner with the runoff votes. After the election some DNC members were concerned about the committee's views. “This whole committee hates women,” said Danielle Blake. This is after two women were passed up for the presidential nomination and two more were passed up for the vice presidential nomination.