New Delhi:

Days after President Joe Biden pulled out of the Presidential race, his deputy Kamala Harris became the front-runner to replace him as the Democratic nominee for the November 5 polls. Apart from President Biden himself, leading party figures are rallying behind her. If Harris wins the nomination, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro is favoured to join her on the ticket.

Betting markets put Shapiro at 7/4 odds, followed by North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper at 3/1 and Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear at 5/1. 

Who is Josh Shapiro?

1. Josh Shapiro was born on June 20, 1973, and grew up in Pennsylvania. His mother was an educator, and his father was a paediatrician. He studied political science at the University of Rochester and later earned a law degree from Georgetown University in Washington, DC. He now lives in Montgomery County with his wife, Lori, and their four children – three school-age sons and a daughter who attends the University of Pittsburgh.

2. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 2004, serving the 153rd District for eight years. He then served as Chairman of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners from 2011 to 2017. In 2016, Shapiro was elected Pennsylvania Attorney General and reelected in 2020. 

3. During his tenure as Attorney General, Josh Shapiro exposed the Catholic Church’s decades-long cover-up of child sexual abuse, identifying 301 predator priests and thousands of victims. He protected healthcare access for nearly 2 million Pennsylvanians and defended reproductive rights and a woman’s right to choose. He also held over 100 corrupt officials accountable for breaking the law, regardless of party affiliation. He worked with law enforcement to arrest thousands of drug dealers and remove thousands of illegal guns from the streets. He also supported LGBTQ+ marriage rights. During the 2020 presidential election, Shapiro safeguarded the right to vote and defended Pennsylvania’s election results, winning dozens of court cases before and after Election Day. 

4. In January 2021, Josh Shapiro began his second term as Attorney General. During this time, he continued to combat the opioid crisis, arresting over 8,000 drug dealers and holding pharmaceutical companies and their CEOs accountable for their role in the COVID-19 epidemic. He secured over $328 million in relief for Pennsylvanians, including seniors, students, and workers, who had been exploited by private lenders and employers.

5. Josh Shapiro also worked on criminal justice reform, creating a database to track police misconduct. He brought together activists and law enforcement to make this happen. In 2022, he made history, receiving the most votes ever in a Pennsylvania governor’s race.