‘No Genocide Josh’ Campaign Doubles Down as Shapiro VP Speculation Grows

A campaign that hopes to thwart Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro’s chances of being picked as Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate doubled down on Friday as speculation rises around the next Democratic vice presidential candidate.

Shapiro, elected as governor in 2022, is believed to be among the front-runners of Harris’ shortlist of potential vice president selections. Talks around the governor’s chances reached a high point on Friday after Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker released a video endorsing Shapiro to be the next Democratic vice president. Harris is expected to announce her choice by Tuesday.

But left-leaning campaign “No Genocide Josh” told Newsweek Friday night that it is continuing to push against Shapiro being selected as Harris’ running mate. The grassroots movement has argued that Shapiro, who is Jewish, does not align with many Democratic voters’ opinions on the war in Gaza.

“Our goal is simple: to send a message to Vice President Harris and the Democratic Party that selecting Shapiro as VP would be the wrong choice, and would hinder our ability to beat Trump and his extremist MAGA agenda this November,” the group sent to Newsweek via email.

“Shapiro does not support the values of the Democratic base,” the statement continued. “He has supported sending $100 million of Pennsylvanians’ taxpayer dollars to fund private school vouchers, has quietly settled a sexual harassment scandal against one of his own top aides, and was unique among the top VP picks in his willingness to deploy the National Guard on peaceful protestors. He even went as far as to compare peaceful university protestors to KKK ralliers.”

“We believe he poses a unique risk to Democrats’ momentum, energy, and unity when it is needed most,” the group concluded.

Shapiro has been vocal about his support for Israel’s right to self-defense since the start of the Israel-Hamas war on October 7. Some of his policies have come under scrutiny by the progressive wing of the Democratic Party, which may pose a problem to Harris’ campaign if Shapiro gets chosen as her running mate.

This is a developing story and will be updated as further information becomes available.