Josh Shapiro is running for a second term as governor of Pennsylvania, followed by talk of a bid for the White House in 2028.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is running for a second term in the pivotal battleground state after a first term that put him on the Democratic Party’s radar as a potential 2028 presidential contender.

He made the official announcement Thursday at an event at the Carpenters Guild Hall in Pittsburgh, and later at a similar event in Philadelphia.

Shapiro’s announcement showed a unified party behind him — including introductions by the state party chair, labor leaders and top local Democratic officials — as he pointed to his accomplishments during a nearly 30-minute speech.

Shapiro warned that his opponents promised “darkness, division and extremism,” and — without mentioning President Donald Trump by name — criticized the “chaos and toxicity” emanating from Washington, D.C., which he said threatens livelihoods, rights and freedoms.

Read more: A planned security review of the Pennsylvania Governor’s official residence after the arson attack

“Every step of the way, I have stood up for my fellow Pennsylvanians, sometimes in a court of law and other times simply refusing to back down, refusing to cast certain Pennsylvanians aside and always by speaking truth to power,” Shapiro said.

He added: “I will not let anyone mess with Pennsylvania and I will always support you.”

Although Shapiro has not revealed any ambitions for higher office, his reelection efforts will be closely watched as another test of his suitability for the White House.

Since winning the governor’s office in a near landslide victory in 2022, Shapiro has been mentioned alongside Democratic contemporaries like California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and others as someone who could lead the national ticket.

Shapiro, 52, has already toured outside of Pennsylvania. Last year, he campaigned for Democrats running for governor in New Jersey and Virginia, and is a frequent guest on Sunday talk shows that can shape the country’s political conversation.

He was also considered a potential running mate for Kamala Harris in 2024. She chose Minnesota Governor Tim Walz instead.

Read more: As Harris nears a decision as running mate, some groups are ramping up their criticism of Shapiro and Kelly

Pivotal first term as governor

Shapiro’s first term has repeatedly put him in the spotlight.

He was governor when Pennsylvania was the site of Trump’s first assassination attempt. Luigi Mangione arrested for allegedly killing United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson; Three police officers were killed in the state’s bloodiest day for law enforcement since 2009.

Last year, an arsonist tried to kill Shapiro by setting fire to the governor’s official residence in the middle of the night. Shapiro was forced to flee with his wife, children and extended family members, and the attack made him a sought-after voice in the country’s recent wave of political violence.

Read more: The growing list of political violence in the United States

As Shapiro settled into the governor’s office, he abandoned his closed public demeanor and became more outspoken.

He pushed to quickly reopen the collapsed section of Interstate 95 in Philadelphia, debuting his new, profane governing slogan — “Get It Done” — at a ceremony for the completed project.

He has crossed the partisan divide over school choice to support a Republican-backed voucher program, causing friction with Democratic lawmakers and allies in the state.

Shapiro regularly raises the need for bipartisanship in a state with a politically divided legislature, and positions himself as a moderate on energy issues in a state that produces the most natural gas after Texas.

He has met with executives of companies interested in Pennsylvania as a data center destination and pushed Pennsylvania into the competition for billions of dollars spent on energy, manufacturing and artificial intelligence.

A repeat winner in a competitive area

Shapiro has strong public approval ratings and carries a reputation as a disciplined messenger and strong fundraiser. For 2026, the Pennsylvania Republican Party has endorsed Stacey Garrity, twice-elected state treasurer, to challenge Shapiro.

Read more: Josh Shapiro wins the unopposed Democratic primary for governor of Pennsylvania

Garrity has campaigned around Pennsylvania and spoken at several Trump rallies in the battleground state, but she is untested as a fundraiser and will have to contend with her relatively low profile compared to Shapiro.

Meanwhile, Shapiro maintains a busy public schedule and has gone out of his way to appear at high-profile non-political events such as football games, a NASCAR race, and on stage at the Roots concert in Philadelphia.

He regularly appears on political television shows, podcasts, and local sports radio shows, and has become a leading pro-Israel voice among Democrats and Jewish politicians amid the war between Israel and Hamas, as he confronts divisions within the Democratic Party over the war.

He has tempered those calls with calls for more aid for Gazans and criticism of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s handling of the war, but some activists have argued against him being the party’s vice presidential nominee in 2024.

In her final book, Harris wrote that she passed on Shapiro after deciding he wouldn’t be right for the role.

She wrote that Shapiro “thought that he wanted to be present in the room when every decision was made,” and she was “feeling a nagging concern that he would not be able to accept the role of second-in-command and that it would affect our partnership.” Shapiro disputed this characterization.

Audition on the 2026 campaign trail

In a September appearance on NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” host Kristen Welker asked him whether he would commit to serving a full second term as governor and whether he would rule out running for president in 2028.
“I’m focusing on doing my job here,” he said, avoiding questions.

His supposed aspirations for the White House—which he never acknowledged publicly—were mentioned repeatedly by Garrity.

“We need someone who is more interested in Pennsylvania than Pennsylvania Avenue,” Garrity said recently on a radio show in Philadelphia. On Thursday, the Republican Governors Association accused Shapiro of being “more focused on his political ambitions” than leading Pennsylvania.

For his part, Shapiro criticizes Garrity as too eager to secure Trump’s endorsement to be an effective advocate for Pennsylvania.

However, the campaign trail could give Shapiro an opportunity to audition for the White House.

For one thing, Shapiro has not been afraid to criticize Trump, even in a swing state that Trump won in 2024. As governor, Shapiro has joined or filed more than a dozen lawsuits against the Trump administration, primarily over defunding states.

He has criticized Trump’s tariffs as “reckless” and “dangerous,” Trump’s threats to revoke television licenses as “an attempt to stifle dissent” and Trump’s evasion on political violence as failing the “leadership test” and “making everyone less safe.”

Many of Shapiro’s potential rivals in the Democratic primary will not have to run for office before then.

Newsom is term-limited, for example. Others — like former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg — do not hold public office. Two other conservatives in the 2028 conversation — Moore and Pritzker — are running for re-election this year.