HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is a top contender for Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate this campaign season — but he’s not the choice candidate for the anti-school-choice crowd.
That’s why teachers’ unions across the country are seeking to block him from becoming the Democratic vice-presidential nominee.
Twenty-eight self-described “public education advocacy organizations” — though charter schools are also public schools — penned a letter Wednesday to Harris insisting Shapiro’s school-choice record should disqualify him from the No. 2 spot.
The missive accuses the popular Pennsylvania governor of supporting “education policies mirroring Project 2025,” referring to a bundle of policy proposals the conservative Heritage Foundation has put forth for a second Trump presidency — which former President Donald Trump himself has disavowed and called “abysmal.”
“It is our fervent hope that your running mate will reflect your strong history of supporting educators and students, and commitment to building the middle class which will require strong public schools across our nation,” the letter reads. “For this reason, we respectfully ask you not to select Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro.”
The “urgent request” goes on to say Shapiro’s support for school choice is akin to “gutting public education and privatizing what is left via irresponsible voucher systems like those in Florida and Arizona.”
The letter concludes Harris should choose an anti-school-choice Democratic governor like North Carolina’s Roy Cooper, Kentucky’s Andy Beshear or Minnesota’s Tim Walz.
“We find it incumbent upon us to note” Shapiro “has supported voucher schemes pushed by well-funded billionaires from Pennsylvania like Jeffrey Yass,” it says, referencing the Keystone State’s richest man — a registered Libertarian who’s spent tens of millions on school-choice efforts in the state.
Shapiro’s support for school-choice vouchers makes him unique among Democratic governors.
His backing of a state Senate bill authorizing $100 million for tuition at private and religious schools last summer put him in a budget standoff with fellow Democrats.
With razor-thin margins in the Legislature and facing a revolt from within his party, Shapiro ultimately backed down and signed the state’s budget without this funding, though he’s indicated he remains open to school-choice proposals moving forward.
Thus far, Shapiro’s Harrisburg tenure has been defined by his solid leadership during the repair of a collapsed Interstate 95 bridge in Philadelphia.
Shapiro served as state attorney general from 2017 to 2023 and Montgomery County Board of Commissioners chairman from 2012 to 2016.