Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro will run for a second term in the battleground state with even larger plans, he announced early Thursday morning.
The proudly Jewish Democratic governor planned to launch his campaign with rallies in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
“We’ve gotten s— done all across our Commonwealth,” Shapiro said in his announcement video.
He will run against the current Pennsylvania treasurer, Republican Stacy Garrity. This announcement comes as Shapiro is floated as a 2028 presidential contender, though he hasn’t publicly mentioned any desire to seek higher office.
Shapiro’s priorities for his second term are economic growth and affordability, public safety and education, including expanding state opportunities for residents without college degrees.
He starts his reelection bid ranked as one of the top 10 most popular governors in the country, according to Politico. He is also well-liked in his home state, with 60% of Pennsylvania voters expressing support for him in a September Quinnipiac University poll and just over half indicating he was doing a “good” or “excellent” job in an October Franklin & Marshall College poll.
Before winning the governor’s seat in a sweeping victory in 2022, Shapiro served as Pennsylvania’s attorney general — during which time he responded to the scene of the Tree of Life synagogue shooting — and as a state representative. Previously, Shapiro served as chair of the Board of Commissioners in Montgomery County. He achieved national status after becoming a finalist in the Democratic Party’s 2024 vice presidential search.
He has been outspoken in the face of antisemitism and Islamophobia, telling Philadelphia Jewish Exponent in a March 2025 interview that fellow elected officials and community leaders have “a responsibility to call out hatred and bigotry in all forms and condemn it.”
Shapiro emerged as a leading pro-Israel voice in the political arena amid the Israel-Hamas war. He has consistently defended Israel’s “right to self-defense” and criticized pro-Palestinian campus protests following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel.
“This is not a moment for moral equivalency,” Shapiro told KDKA Radio, referring to Israel as the United States’ “key ally.”
“Israel not only has a right to defend itself; I think Israel has a responsibility to combat Hamas head-on and to defeat Hamas,” he said at a December 2023 virtual event hosted by the Jewish Democratic Council of America.
Shapiro has also urged the Trump administration to send aid to the people of Gaza.
“I think it is common sense and humane to want children who are hungry to be fed,” he told The Forward in September 2025. “And I think it’s common sense and humane to want hostages that are being held by a terrorist group, Hamas, to be returned home.”
Shapiro drew controversy for calling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “one of the worst leaders of all time.” The governor has maintained that Netanyahu’s actions put Israel and its security at risk, according to Politico.
Shapiro has voiced support for a two-state solution, citing his long history with the land. He first visited Israel as an 11th grader at Akiba Hebrew Academy and said he felt a deep connection.
“I traveled the country, met the people, ate the food, really dove into the history in a more direct and meaningful way. And that trip had a big impact on my life,” he told Philadelphia Jewish Exponent last year.
His Jewish faith informs Shapiro’s values and commitment to repairing the world. He was raised in an observant Jewish home, attending Jewish day school in the Philadelphia suburbs.
“We grew up with faith guiding a lot of our daily lives, and it really shaped me in a way that I knew I had to do something in service to others,” Shapiro told Philadelphia Jewish Exponent in March 2025. “In no way did I think I’d be governor of Pennsylvania, nor did I really think that I’d go into a career in politics, but I knew that because of how I was raised, it would be a life of service.”
Shapiro will embark on a book tour later in January, with stops in Philadelphia, New York and Washington, D.C. His new memoir, “Where We Keep the Light: Stories from a Life of Service,” explores his family, faith and political career.
