Gov. Shapiro, who is currently seeking a second term, is expected to easily win re-election in November and defeat the Republican candidate, Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacey Garrity.
An average of polls at Real Clear Politics shows Shapiro with a 21-point lead over Garrity, and his approval rating is 56%.
Diane Gramley, president of the American Family Association of Pennsylvania, tells American Family News the Democrat will win a second term and then turn his sights on the White House in 2028.
“I believe Gov. Shapiro is very strongly considering a run for the White House in 2028,” she advises.
“As to whether he'd be well received,” Gramley continued, “he's good in front of a camera, he says the right things at the right time, and he presents himself as a moderate.”
Shapiro was serving a second term as Pennsylvania’s attorney general when he won the governor’s race in 2023, defeating Republican Doug Mastriano.
If the popular governor jumps into the Democratic primary for president, Gramley says Shapiro’s biggest challenge may be his Jewish faith.
“Because the Democrat Party is definitely becoming more anti-Israel, thus anti-Jew, although still too many Jews vote for Democrats,” Gramley says.
Shapiro, who is no rookie in politics, has tried to split the issue of Israel and the Palestinians. He has criticized the Israeli government for its military offensive in Gaza, but he is on record denying the IDF has committed "genocide" against the Palestinians.
Shapiro is also a self-described Zionist, which is now a controversial position in the modern Democratic Party that views Israel as an "occupier" in the Middle East.
Shapiro has stated he was passed over as Kamala Harris' vice presidential nominee in 2024 because of anti-Jewish beliefs. During the vetting process, Shapiro has said Harris' aides asked directly if he was an agent, or a double agent, for Israel.
One political factor for Shapiro is the emerging “Red-Green alliance,” a tactical partnership between Islamists and communists whose goal is to defeat the West and end capitalism. That coalition in Iran pushed out the Shah in the 1979 and welcomed Ayatollah Khomeni, the exiled Islamic leader.
A more modern example of that political alliance is Zohran Mamdani, New York City’s mayor, as well as U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed.
Gramley, who is knowledgeable about the “Red-Green Alliance," tells AFN the rise of the Democratic Socialists of America, or DSA, is also a factor if the Jewish governor runs for president.
“And they would not support a Jew unless they saw it as an inroad to further their agenda in the long run,” she insists.
