Top potential Harris VP pick 'likely no longer the betting favorite': report

01 August 2024

One of presumptive 2024 Democratic nominee Kamala Harris' top potential vice presidential picks could get knocked off the list after a women's advocacy group on Thursday called for his removal, according to The Daily Beast.

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, Axios reported last week, likely ended up among Harris' VP contenders due to the fact he's a former attorney general — like the vice president — and has "shown himself capable of dispatching a [Donald] Trump-backed candidate and working across the aisle in Pennsylvania's divided government."

However, the battleground state's governor faces staunch criticism from the National Women's Defense League (NWDL) after his office "agreed to pay $295,000 to quietly settle a sexual harassment complaint against one of his most trusted advisors," according to Spotlight PA.

Per the Beast, "Shapiro is likely no longer the betting favorite to be" Harris' running mate, as a result.

The organization said in a statement that the vice president's team should "consider the handling of past complaints of sexual harassment inside the Pennsylvania Governor’s office," the Beast reports.

"Governor Shapiro’s office should have done a better job preventing sexual harassment happening in his own office by former cabinet secretary Mike Vereb," NWDL director Emma Davidson Tribbs said, "including protecting the survivor who bravely came forward, ensuring that any other potential survivors felt safe in speaking up, and ensuring the harasser didn’t have the opportunity to do further harm after the complaint."

The Beast reports the governor's "spokesperson Manuel Bonder said in a statement to the Pennsylvania Capital-Star that the governor and his administration 'take every allegation of discrimination and harassment extremely seriously and have robust procedures in place to thoroughly investigate all reports.'"

The Daily Beast's full report is available at this link (subscription required). Axios' report is here. Spotlight PA's report is here.

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