Fetterman has concerns about Shapiro for V.P., aides tell Harris’ team

PHILADELPHIA — Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman is concerned about the possibility that Vice President Kamala Harris might choose his state’s governor, Josh Shapiro, as her running mate, and his advisers have privately relayed those worries to Harris' team, according to three people familiar with the conversations.

Fetterman’s advisers suggested to Harris’ team that the senator believes that Shapiro is excessively focused on his own personal ambitions. His reservations about Shapiro reflect a long-running rivalry between the two ambitious Democrats, who have risen on parallel tracks in a politically crucial state.

For Fetterman’s representatives to reveal his concerns to the party’s new standard-bearer’s team underscores the intense scrutiny being applied to possible running mates — and the high stakes of a decision that has the potential to shape the Democratic Party for years to come. Shapiro has risen to the top of the shortlist of Harris’ possible vice presidential picks. Harris is interviewing several contenders this weekend and is scheduled to hold a rally with her running mate on Tuesday in Philadelphia.

Fetterman’s representatives explained to Harris’ aides that one of the key disagreements the men had was while they served together on Pennsylvania’s Board of Pardons, according to the three people, who were granted anonymity to describe internal conversations.

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. 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.

As Harris makes her decision under the pressure of a highly compressed time frame, there have been furious efforts by both supporters and critics of Shapiro to influence the vice president’s pick. Other candidates’ backers and opponents have joined in on the lobbying.

Many Pennsylvania Democrats, including Sen. Bob Casey, have openly thrown their weight behind Shapiro for vice president. But Fetterman has been notably silent in public.

During the behind-the-scenes conversations in recent days, Fetterman’s team expressed his “full-on, enthusiastic support for Kamala Harris,” one person familiar with the discussions said. In this person’s description, Fetterman’s advisers offered his “unvarnished assessment” of Shapiro “that is not about policy differences or other public baggage.”

A Fetterman spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

Shapiro spokesperson Will Simons defended the governor’s record on the Board of Pardons.

“The governor evaluates every pardons case individually and on its merits and during his time as attorney general, he approved more pardons and commutations than all of his predecessors over the last 25 years, combined,” he said. “He is proud of his record of delivering meaningful criminal justice reform while making Pennsylvania communities safer.”

Kevin Munoz, a Harris spokesperson, declined to comment on the conversations and only pointed to a past statement that “Vice President Harris has directed her team to begin the process of vetting potential running mates” and that “process has begun in earnest and we do not expect to have additional updates until the Vice President announces who will be serving as her running mate.”

The long-simmering rivalry between Fetterman and Shapiro dates back several years, to when Fetterman was the lieutenant governor and widely viewed as a rising star on the left. Shapiro was an up-and-coming attorney general burnishing his prosecutorial credentials. Both men were known to have higher offices in their sights.

On the Board of Pardons in December 2019, Lee and Dennis Horton’s freedom came up for a vote. The brothers were seen within the walls as model prisoners, and their own prison superintendent advocated for their release. Their clemency applications failed 2-3, with Shapiro opposing them and Fetterman in favor. Shapiro expressed frustration that there were missing court documents in the case.

Afterward, Fetterman told The Philadelphia Inquirer that “the trajectory of my career in public service will be determined by their freedom or lack thereof,” a thinly veiled threat to run against Shapiro for governor in 2022. When the Horton brothers’ clemency came up for a vote again, in December 2020, the board supported it, including Shapiro. The then-attorney general’s spokesperson said he wanted time to interview the two men separately and review the missing files.

Fetterman saw the episode as an example of Shapiro putting his political future ahead of doing what Fetterman thought was right. Shapiro has said that politics weren’t a factor in his decisions on the Pardons Board and that he believes there are “deep and problematic structural issues within our justice system” but “you can’t solve those deep structural issues by a commutation process, because we’re forced to look at these cases on an individual basis.”

Earlier this week, Shapiro was asked by The Philadelphia Inquirer if he ever prioritized ambition over personal relationships. “I recognize that at this moment, in probably every moment in my life, folks are judging me from the outside. And that’s fine,” Shapiro said. “It’s part of the business. I’m most comfortable with every decision I made that it’s always been about service.”

Shapiro is one of several running-mate candidates, including Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, who have met with Harris’ vetting team. Shapiro’s allies have been vocal in their support in recent days, with top elected officials and labor leaders in Pennsylvania publicly endorsing him for vice president at a rally and on social media . The governor’s backers include Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker, former Rep. Bob Brady and multiple unions. CNN reported that a senior adviser to Joe Biden said the president is a “big fan” of Shapiro and thinks Walz is “a blast.”

At the same time, Shapiro has been attacked by his opponents, particularly those on the left. He has angered pro-Palestinian activists for his staunch support of Israel as well as teachers unions due to his backing of school vouchers. He has also come under fire for his handling of alleged sexual harassment by one of his former top aides.