Pa Governor Josh Shapiro One of Two Leading Candidates to be Harris’ Running Mate, Report Says

For weeks its been speculated that Pennsylvania's governor Josh Shapiro could be tapped as a running mate on the upcoming Democratic ticket for the presidential race.

That list, however, was quite long with at least 10 names being discussed. Well, now that list is reportedly much smaller and Josh Shapiro appears to bea finalist.

In fact, Josh Shapiro is one of the two "leading candidates" for the job, ABC News' Martha Raddatz exclusively reported on Tuesday.

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The only other name on that short list appears to be  Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, ABC News says.

The vetting process is said to be underway for both men, which is typical for this stage in the campaign. Others who may have been asked to submit documents for the vetting process appear to have included North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

By late Monday evening, Harris appeared to have locked up enough support from delegates clearing a path to her nomination in August as the Democratic nominee for president. Multiple outlets including the Associated Press and New York Times confirmed this.

Josh Shapiro is a Popular Governor

As we wrote yesterday, Shapiro is a popular first term governor in the state of Pennsylvania. He has been praised for his work with a divided legislature, and he's been praised for his work in helping to rebuild I-95 in the Philadelphia area among other big national stories.

Kelly, meanwhile, is a first term senator who was elected in 2022. He's a former astronaut and Navy captain who is married to former congresswoman Gabby Giffords.

Governor Shapiro has not publicly commented if he's spoken to Harris (or anyone associated with her campaign) about the possibility of being selected.

Though, he has told the media that he spoke to Vice President Harris after President Biden stepped out the of the race. The exact nature of that conversation was focused on "beating Donald Trump," Shapiro said.

The exact timeline for Harris to reveal her choice as a running mate is not clear, but it's likely that it will happen within a few weeks.