What Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is running on in bid for a second term

At a recent campaign stop in Erie County, Pennsylvania, Gov. Josh Shapiro was quick to rattle off a list of first-term accomplishments.

He's cut taxes seven times and created the Working Pennsylvanians Tax Credit, which has given 940,000 Pennsylvania residents up to $800 each.

He's overseen the largest growth of the state's economy in decades. There's been more growth in his first term, he says, than in the 15 previous years combined, and Moody's has determined that Pennsylvania is the only state in the Northeastern U.S. with a growing economy, fueled by $40 billion in private-sector investment.

He also touts record investment in public education, which includes $300 million for districts to hire counselors to address the mental health crisis, and his work with both parties to secure universal free breakfast for children. Under Shapiro, the state has also implemented a stipend for student teachers to help address teacher shortages across the state and nation.

And under his watch, he boasts of declining crime rates, including violent crimes, and the work he did to expand the ranks of the Pennsylvania State Police.

"I fundamentally believe that if you give a kid a good school and a safe community to live in, a job that she wants in a neighborhood that she can afford, in a place that respects her for who she is, that's a recipe for success and that's the work that we're doing every single day in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania," Shapiro said May 6 while speaking at the Erie County Democratic Party's spring dinner. "I'm proud that on our watch we've made historic investments in public education."

Shapiro uncontested in Democratic primary

Shapiro, a prospective 2028 presidential candidate, is uncontested in the May 19 Democratic primary for governor, as is his opponent, state Treasurer Stacy Garrity in the Republican primary.

In his first run for governor in 2022, Shapiro easily dispatched state Sen. Doug Mastriano by 15 percentage points. An average of polls taken in February and March put Shapiro 20 percentage points ahead of Garrity.

While Garrity appears to be making the race a referendum on Shapiro's first term, Shapiro seemingly embraces that approach. He's been highlighting every accomplishment under a political mantra of "getting stuff done."

Shapiro, 52, served two terms as state attorney general before being elected governor. In that role, he gained national attention by leading a two-year grand jury probe into hundreds of claims of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church, which led to a 2018 report of decades of abuse claims and their cover-up.

Prior to winning the state row house seat, Shapiro served on the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners from 2012 to 2017. He was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 2004, serving 3½ terms from 2005 through early 2012.

His first term as governor has not been without crises or controversy.

Gov. Josh Shapiro's first-term challenges

In 2023, Shapiro's office was accused of attempting to cover up claims of sexual harassment and retaliation lodged against his then-director of government affairs, Mike Vereb, by a subordinate. The administration settled the claims against Vereb, a Shapiro ally, for $295,000 that October, a month after Vereb was forced to resign. Questions have persisted about when Shapiro learned about the harassment claims and if he could have acted sooner to dismiss Vereb.

Questions about the incident reemerged in 2024 as presidential nominee and then-Vice President Kamala Harris considered choosing Shapiro as her running mate. Shapiro has said he withdrew his name from consideration days before Harris named Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to the spot. Following her defeat, Harris, in her memoir "107 Days", described Shapiro as ambitious, obsessed with the vice president's residency and seeking more power than is customary for a VP. Shapiro has denounced Harris' description of him as "blatant lies."

Garrity has slammed Shapiro for both his ambition to hold higher office and his handling of the sexual harassment incident.

She's also criticized Shapiro for using $1 million of taxpayer funds for security upgrades at his private residence in Montgomery County. She announced in April that as state treasurer she does not have legal authority to pay for improvements to a privately owned property.

The upgrades were made following the April 13, 2025, arson attack on the Governor's Residence — the official home of the governor — in Harrisburg.

Then 38-year-old Cody Balmer pleaded guilty to attempted murder, terrorism, more than 20 counts of arson and other charges in the arson attack, which occurred shortly after Shapiro, who is of Jewish faith, and his family celebrated the first night of Passover. Balmer later said he planned to beat Shapiro with a hammer if he encountered him. No one, including children who were inside the home at the time, was injured in the arson attack.

However, it not only exposed several security lapses at the Governor's Residence, it also underscored how political violence was worsening across the U.S.

Shapiro has been vocal about the emotional toll the attack took on him and his family. He's spoken about the experience on several occasions, including at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., in December, where he joined Republican Utah Gov. Spencer Cox to advocate for political civility.

However, Republicans have been critical about the slow release of records related to the security improvements, as well as the upgrades themselves at Shapiro's private home.

Taking on Trump

Shapiro earned high praise in June 2023 after a bridge collapse on Interstate 95 in Philadelphia. Working with PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll, officials on the local, state and federal levels, as well as unions and private contractors, the bridge was replaced in just 12 days, instead of several months as some had estimated.

The quick turnaround to reopen a major transportation artery, as opposed to a drawn-out bureaucratic process tangled in red tape, helped elevate Shapiro's stature and eventually put him in the discussion to be a vice presidential contender a year later.

In the nearly 18 months since Trump was inaugurated to his second, non-consecutive four-year term, Shapiro has been on the front lines of court battles with the administration. Along with other states, Shapiro has sued the Trump White House several times over executive orders, federal funding freezes, election matters, including mail-in voting, and other issues.

At his recent speech in Erie, Shapiro spent most of his time attacking Trump and his policies, while never mentioning Garrity by name and only referring to her once as "my opponent."

With Garrity being a loyal Trump supporter — she held a fundraiser at Trump's Mar-A-Lago resort and has his endorsement — it's likely Shapiro will spend the rest of the campaign talking just as much about him as he does her, especially given the historically poor showing of a sitting president's party in the midterms and Trump's underwater poll numbers over rising gas prices and an unpopular war with Iran.

It's an approach that arguably serves dual purposes of winning over Pennsylvanians for a second term and priming him for a presidential run. That's why what happens in Pennsylvania in November could foreshadow what Shapiro does two years from now.

In fact, one vulnerable Pennsylvania Republican, U.S. House Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-1st Dist., recently attempted to use Shapiro's popularity to his advantage.

In an interview with Punchbowl News, Fitzpatrick said he thinks Shapiro has "done a really good job for Pennsylvania" and will win re-election.

“Josh is a good man and he’s a friend,” Fitzpatrick said, despite Shapiro having endorsed his Democratic challenger. “I do think he should run for president. Josh is very smart and I have a really good relationship with him. I invited him to my wedding. I hope he comes."

Matthew Rink is a USA TODAY Network Pennsylvania investigative journalist.