All eyes are on the Keystone State, as Pennsylvania is THE swing state in the 2024 presidential election.

Now, the Commonwealth is also in focus as Washington’s favorite parlor game includes the state’s chief executive.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is one of the leading candidates under consideration to be selected as Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate. And with that spotlight comes additional scrutiny into Shapiro’s background.

Here’s what we know.

Name. Joshua David Shapiro
Birth Date. June 20, 1973 (51 years old)
Spouse. Lori Ferrara Shapiro
Education. B.S., political science, University of Rochester, 1995. J.D., Georgetown University, 2002

Political History

• Congressional aide, U.S. Sen. Carl Levin (Mich.), U.S. Rep. Peter Deutsch (Fla.), U.S. Sen. Robert Torricelli (N.J.), 1994-99
• Chief of Staff, U.S. Rep. Joe Hoeffel, 1999-2003
• Representative, 153rd District, Pennsylvania House of Representatives, 2005-12
• Deputy Speaker of the Pennsylvania House, 2007-12
• Montgomery County Board of Commissioners, 2011-17; Chair, 2012-16
• Attorney General, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 2017-22
• Governor, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 2023-present

Elections

• 2004 PA House 153rd District. defeated Jon Fox, 54-45%
• 2006 PA House 15rd District, defeated Lou Guerra, 76-24%
• 2008 PA House 153rd District, unopposed
• 2010 PA House, 153rd District, defeated Tom Bogar, 70-30%
• 2011 Montgomery County Commissioner, finished 1st of 4 with 27% of vote
• 2015 Montgomery County Commissioner, finished 1st of 4 with 31% of vote
• 2016 PA Attorney General, defeated John Rafferty, 51-49%
• 2020 PA Attorney General, defeated Heather Heidelbaugh, 51-46%
• 2022 PA Governor, defeated Doug Mastriano, 56-42%

Attorney General History

• 2018. Completed investigation of allegations of sexual abuse perpetrated by members of the Catholic Church and released report alleging sexual abuse of more than 1,000 children by over 300 priests.
• 2019. Settled with Highmark to allow 1.9 million insurance recipients to continue using their existing doctors as in-plan providers rather than being forced to switch either medical providers or insurance providers.
• 2020. Oversaw and won more than 40 cases of alleged voter fraud brought against Commonwealth by then-President Donald Trump
• 2021. Settled with Johnson & Johnson and three other U.S. pharmaceutical distributors over thousands of lawsuits against companies for their role in fueling the opioid epidemic, resulting in $1 billion for Pennsylvania.

Governor History

• Eliminated the four-year college degree requirement for 92% of state government jobs.
• Supported a Republican-led school choice proposal that would distribute $100 million to families for private school tuition instead of sending their children to public schools. Later dropped support to avoid a protracted budget delay after Democrats in the state House refused to support it. The next year, proposed a $1.1 billion boost for public school operations and instruction during the drafting of the 2024 budget, a 14% increase from the previous year.
• Received praise as collapsed portion of I-95 was rebuilt in less than two weeks.
• Ended Pennsylvania’s nearly 30-year contract with Real Alternatives, an anti-abortion nonprofit that funds anti-abortion counseling centers and maternity homes.
• Enacted automatic voter registration.
• Faced controversy when Mike Vereb, his Secretary of Legislative Affairs, resigned following allegations by a former female deputy secretary that Vereb subjected her to unwanted sexual conversations.

What We’re Watching

• Shapiro is one of three governors still under consideration for the second spot on the Democratic presidential ticket, alongside Harris.
• Others include Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly has also had his name floated as a potential No. 2.
• Harris has announced that she will begin a Battleground State tour on Tuesday, starting with Philadelphia. That announcement has increased speculation that Shapiro will be selected.
• Harris has also hinted that she would prefer “more of a governing partner” than an electoral boost.
• Word has filtered out that the campaign is telling Wall Street donors to cut their checks as soon as they can, citing a financial “pay-to-play” rule that bars contributions to political tickets featuring a sitting governor, such as Shapiro, Beshear and Walz.

What We’re Hearing 

• “But even if all (Shapiro) is bringing to the table is a marginal improvement in Pennsylvania, well, Pennsylvania has been won or lost at the margins since 2016,” Amy Walter, editor of the Cook Political Report said.
• “He’s very independent, very shrewd,” St. Joseph’s professor emeritus and political commentator Randall Miller said. “He has a controlled, directed ambition. He doesn’t need to do it.”
• “His brand is not a partisan brand,” political analyst Larry Ceisler says. “His rhetoric, though strong, is much less inflammatory than most. Josh has the ability to see four steps ahead and to look around corners. He’s always been able to do that.”
• “There’s no state where trading out Joe Biden for Kamala Harris is more detrimental than Pennsylvania,” said Republican strategist Guy Ciarrocchi.
• “If I was advising him I wouldn’t get involved in this race,” Westmoreland County GOP chair Bill Bretz said. “If I’m Josh Shapiro, and I know he has presidential aspirations … I’m not sure I’m hitching my wagon to this ticket.”
• More from Pennsylvania pollsters Berwood Yost of Franklin & Marshall College and Chris Borick of Muhlenberg College.