Tonight, Pennsylvania takes center stage at the Democratic Convention in Chicago as Gov. Josh Shapiro will take the podium for a primetime address.
The second-year governor was considered for the No. 2 position on the ticket along with Vice President Kamala Harris, but she opted to select Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
He gave a full-throated endorsement of the Harris-Walz ticket during their initial campaign event in Philadelphia on August 6 and is expected to do so again tonight.
According to Scripps News, Shapiro will have a primetime slot, although the Wednesday night schedule has not been officially released.
Four senators – Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-N.M.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) – will kick off the evening, while House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) will follow.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore will then precede Shapiro, who will be followed by Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, former President Bill Clinton and Walz.
The Democratic National Committee has had difficulty placing its prime speakers into the 10 p.m. East Coast television window over the last two nights with President Joe Biden starting his Monday address at 11:30 and former President Barack Obama beginning just after 11.
Shapiro did address the Convention briefly on Tuesday, taking the microphone to cast Pennsylvania’s 178 delegates for Harris. He has spent time during the week continuing to raise his national profile to talk with delegation breakfasts. Shapiro addressed New Hampshire delegates on Wednesday morning, saying he “specifically wanted to be here … this morning, because when the power is in the hands of New Hampshire, you all know how to pick a president.”