Right now it appears that Kamala Harris is the presumptive nominee for the Democratic Party, assuming there isn’t some further funny business between now and the convention. Given it’s the Democrats, you never know, considering they were willing to stomp all over democracy to sweep Joe Biden to the side in the hopes of improving their chances.
As I reported earlier, even with that move, Kamala still has some Electoral College math to contend with, and the two latest swing state polls show that she’s still in trouble. Her vice presidential pick might factor into that math. Word is that Barack Obama wants Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly and that he’s high up on the shortlist for Kamala.
However, the one state that the Democrats absolutely have to be able to win is Pennsylvania, as I noted. So you would think that could make Gov. Josh Shapiro, who is popular in the state, the top possibility for her VP selection.
READ MORE: Two New Swing State Polls Show the Serious Trouble Kamala Is In
But there’s a small problem that just dropped and may do in Shapiro’s chances. That is, assuming Democrats are people of their word.
A Democrat running for treasurer in Pennsylvania, Erin McClelland, posted on X about the VP pick, apparently bashing Shapiro over sexism and accusing him of sweeping aside a sexual harassment case under him.
I want a VP pick that’s secure enough to be second under a woman, is content to be VP & won’t undermine the President to maneuver his own election & doesn’t sweep sexual harassment under the rug. I want someone that can speak to rural voters. That is @RoyCooperNC
— Erin McClelland (@ErinforPA) July 23, 2024
Her social media post appeared to reference a sexual harassment scandal that rocked Shapiro’s office last year. A former top aide to the governor, Mike Vereb, was accused of sexual harassment by a female subordinate. The governor’s office reached a $295,000 settlement with the accuser. However, Vereb did not resign until six months after a complaint was filed, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
Pennsylvania lawmakers heavily criticized Shapiro for his handling of the scandal and Republicans questioned why Vereb was permitted to remain in his position for months after the accuser came forward.
So what happened to “Me Too” and “believe all women”? Sounds like that didn’t hold up very well here. Given Kamala’s alleged position on the issue, is she really going to go for a guy that even a Democrat is putting a cloud over now? If she does, that will tell you just how much they don’t care about any of the principles they say are important and really just care about winning.
There’s already an indication that the Democrats are mad at McClelland for bringing this issue back up. Democratic Party Chairman Sharif Street, who supports Shapiro, said while everyone was “entitled to their opinion,” he was “personally offended” by the post and he was going to “have conversations with our nominee for Treasurer, separately.” Sounds like instead of explaining Shapiro’s actions, they’re going to yell at the person who dared to talk about it. Not a good look.
But McClelland isn’t shutting up. She also told the NY Post:
“If I were in [Harris’] situation, I would think very strongly about the difficulties that some women experience being in a top-level position, and having men around them that have to be satisfied with being second, third or answering to a woman,” she told the outlet.
McClelland also said she has not spoken with Street since the controversy over her post but believes their relationship will be “fine.”
“Someone is offended by a woman with a strong opinion. Color me thunderstruck,” she told the Post.
She did say that she was going to support the ticket, whoever was chosen, which sounds lame after going out on a limb like that by objecting to Shapiro.
But we shall see where it goes. The choice to pick him or not when Pennsylvania is absolutely necessary will tell you how much Harris and the Democrats care about their principles.
