As pressure mounts for President Joe Biden to step aside, Pennsylvanians and pundits have their attention focused on the state’s governor, Josh Shapiro: Could the popular Democrat be elevated to serve as a running mate to Kamala Harris, or even to top the ticket? 

Jewish Democrats regard the possibility of Shapiro, a proudly Jewish politician who ran a TV ad showing his family celebrating Shabbat, serving as president or vice president with excitement — and a dash of trepidation. 

“Jews are always split between being both proud and concerned,” said Larry Ceisler, a public affairs executive in Pennsylvania. 

The hype surrounding Shapiro, who won by a landslide in 2022, is not new. For years, discussing whether Shapiro might be the first Jewish president has been something of a parlor game in Jewish political circles. But now that the hypothetical is becoming slightly closer to a realistic situation, American Jews are considering what it would mean for a Jewish politician to be on the ballot for president or vice president, especially given today’s charged climate of rising antisemitism in the wake of Oct. 7 and the Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. 

Not since Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) was picked to be Al Gore’s running mate in 2000 have Jewish Democrats seriously considered that possibility. At the time, Lieberman’s ascension to the ticket was an enormous point of pride for the Jewish community. It was also the source of some anxiety.

“Obviously the Jewish ambivalence or anxiety comes from Jewish history,” Lieberman, who died earlier this year, told Jewish Insider in 2020. “It’s really a marvelous story, and very hopeful because the Christian confidence says that — this being a majority Christian country — this place was different. It wasn’t like other places and other times.” 

When Lieberman was on the ticket, Abe Foxman, the former longtime national director of the Anti-Defamation League, criticized how frequently Lieberman invoked religion. But Foxman told JI on Thursday he wouldn’t have the same concern about Shapiro.

“What I criticized was his advocating ‘religion in the public space’ enhancing the religious right position. There is no such issue with Shapiro,” said Foxman. “I believe we have crossed the line of a Jew running for public office when Lieberman ran. And it would not be an issue for Shapiro except for antisemites.”

Since then, antisemitism in America has skyrocketed, particularly after the Oct. 7 terror attacks in Israel. But Shapiro’s vocal support for Israel and condemnations of antisemitism do not appear to have hurt his approval ratings. He has spoken forcefully on both topics, such as  when he slammed the then-University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill after her testimony on Capitol Hill in December.

Shapiro has remained popular even in a deeply divided swing state. After the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump at a rally outside of Pittsburgh last week, Shapiro quickly arrived on the scene. He delivered an emotional address about Corey Comperatore, a former firefighter who was killed at the rally, whom Shapiro said “died a hero.” His handling of the incident even earned him plaudits from Republican Senate candidate Dave McCormick, who tweeted a photo with Shapiro and praised his “strength and leadership.” 

Shapiro is not a shoo-in; his national experience is limited, and Biden still remains atop the ticket. But Democrats need to win Pennsylvania to win in November, and recent polling shows Biden struggling in Pennsylvania, which offers some ammunition to Shapiro’s backers. (A spokesperson for Shapiro declined to comment on Thursday.)

“If the election is super close, small amounts of voters matter,” said Kenneth Baer, a former Obama administration official who now runs a communications firm. “Do you just get a ton of people, for instance, in suburban Detroit, suburban Philly, Pittsburgh, Jews who are turning out at 80 or 90% and all voting for the ticket because they love him so much? That could be the difference.” On a ticket with Harris, Shapiro would join Jewish Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff.

When Shapiro ran for governor in 2022, he frequently invoked Jewish teachings on the campaign trail. He did so with universal language, even when the texts he quoted were distinctly Jewish, to strengthen his connection to people of other faiths. 

“You’ve heard me read Scripture before, that no one is required to complete the task, but neither are we free to refrain from it, meaning each of us has a responsibility to get off the sidelines, to get in the game and to do our part,” Shapiro said at his victory party in 2022, quoting Pirkei Avot, “Ethics of our Fathers.”

As a gubernatorial candidate, Shapiro “wanted to get this right out of the way from the beginning. His first ad in the general election dealt with faith,” said Ceisler. “I think Josh has always felt that faith is a bond between him and many, many voters, obviously voters who are not Jewish, and it’s proven to be true.”