Governor of Pennsylvania Josh Shapiro is the betting favorite to be No. 2 on the Democratic ticket, but his involvement in a sexual harassment cover-up may limit his chances. The issue has come to a head, with a little-known women's rights organization urging Vice President Kamala Harris to think twice.
In a headline: “Governor. Shapiro's failures enabled sexual harassment,” the National Women's Defense League said in a statement that Harris' vetting team should “consider the handling of past complaints of sexual harassment in the Pennsylvania governor's office.” The group claims to be a non-partisan organization dedicated to preventing sexual harassment.
Shapiro, 51, is the chief executive of a key battleground state rich in electoral votes, where Harris is campaigned with his yet-to-be-named running mate on Tuesday. Speculation had grown based on the location of Tuesday's rally, in Philadelphia, that it could only be Shapiro.
Vice President Kamala Harris Accused of Covering Up Sexual Harassment
That scenario and Shapiro's fortunes now appear to have dimmed.
Shapiro has it come under fire over his administration's decision last year to pay nearly $300,000 to settle a sexual-harassment claim against one of his longtime aides. The settlement involved a confidentiality agreement.
“Governor Shapiro's office should have done a better job of preventing sexual harassment in his own office by former Cabinet Secretary Mike Vereb, including protecting the survivor who bravely came forward , making sure any other potential survivors feel safe to speak up and ensuring the stalker didn't have the opportunity to do more harm after the complaint,” said Emma Davidson Tribbs, director of the National Women's Defense League.
Shapiro finally addressed the matter Wednesday afternoon.
Shapiro's spokesman, Manuel Bonder, said in a statement to the Pennsylvania Capital-Star that the governor and his administration “take all allegations of discrimination and harassment very seriously and have robust procedures in place to thoroughly investigate all reports.” .
But the governor's office had no further comment on the merits of the matter, saying: “In order to protect the privacy of all current and former Commonwealth employees involved, the Administration does not comment further on specific matters of staff”.
Shapiro also faced ethical questions. Has been seen sitting courtside with a donor at a 76ers game and was rejected for accepting expensive tickets to numerous other sporting events, which could violate his status. prohibition of gifts.
And progressives sympathetic to Palestinian causes don't want him on the ticket either while Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza continues. Shapiro is a supporter of Israel's right to defend itself, while being critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He has criticized the protests against Israel, pushing to finish by force the camp at the University of Pennsylvania.
Their positions have gone up concerns about freedom of expression and now they have led pro-Palestinian activists to try to reduce their chances of joining the ticket, The New York Times reported on Thursday.
As of Thursday, Harris' team was still actively investigating potential candidates. “They're seeing the JD Vance experiment going awry and they want to make sure they're doing their due diligence,” a longtime Democratic operative told the Daily Beast.
In addition to Shapiro, Tim Walz, the governor of Minnesota, and Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, so is Team Harris looking closely att Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
Beyond the sexual harassment scandal, Shapiro lacks foreign policy and military credentials.
Unlike rivals Walz and Kelly, Shapiro did not serve in the military, and his political experience pales in comparison. (Walz is a two-term governor and a veteran who served 10 years in the U.S. House; Kelly sits on the Senate Intelligence and Armed Services Committees, served in the Navy and commanded the shuttle Space Endeavor.)
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