REPORT: Democrat Senator Opposes Top Harris VP Candidate As Party Tensions Simmer

Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) is reportedly concerned about the prospect of Kamala Harris selecting Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro as her running mate, and his advisors have conveyed these concerns to the Harris Campaign, according to a report from Politico. Shapiro is seen as the far and away most likely selection after Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker appeared to leak the selection.

According to the report, Fetterman’s advisors have told the Harris Campaign that Shapiro is too focused on his own political ambitions. The two Pennsylvania Democrats have long been involved in a feud after rising to prominence through opposite factions of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party.

Fetterman’s team explained to Harris’ aides that the two men had a number of key disagreements while they both served on Pennsylvania’s Board of Pardons, according to the three people familiar with the matter.

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“Fetterman sought to revitalize the institution and provide second chances to some convicts. Shapiro often took a less lenient position, arguing that he believed in criminal justice reform but that the commutations process was not the place for “structural” changes,” Politico reported. “Fetterman and Shapiro clashed in particular over the fate of Lee and Dennis Horton, brothers who had been convicted in a fatal shooting and robbery in 1993 but maintained their innocence for decades.”

The report comes as Harris considers a number of potential running mates in a short period of time. Other options include Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota, Governor Andy Beshear of Kentucky, and Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ). Shapiro is currently a wide betting favorite, however, as Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker posted then quickly deleted a video praising the “Harris-Shapiro Campaign.”

Senator Fetterman is far from the only member of the progressive wing of the Democratic Party who is opposed to Shapiro’s candidacy. Earlier this month, a statewide candidate in Pennsylvania accused Shapiro of covering up sexual harassment within his office

“I want a VP pick that’s secure enough to be second under a woman, is content to be VP & won’t undermine the President to maneuver his own election & doesn’t sweep sexual harassment under the rug,” Pennsylvania treasurer candidate Erin McClelland wrote in an X post earlier this week. “I want someone that can speak to rural voters,” the Pennsylvania Democrat continued, adding that her choice for vice president would be North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper.

In a statement to the New York Post, McClelland noted that she did not mention Shapiro’s name directly, though she did add that her concerns about the governor’s presidential ambitions should be heard.

“If I were in [Harris’] situation, I would think very strongly about the difficulties that some women experience being in a top-level position, and having men around them that have to be satisfied with being second, third or answering to a woman,” she said.

One letter signed by nearly 50 progressive leaders pointed to Shapiro’s “shortcomings as a national candidate” and urged the vice president to consider Walz or Beshear instead.

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