Gov. Josh Shapiro promised to be “a governor for all Pennsylvanians” as he formally announced his reelection campaign Thursday in a Pittsburgh suburb.
“Most Pennsylvanians want the same few things,” Shapiro told a crowd of officials and supporters at the Carpenters Union Local 432 building in Collier, six miles southwest of Pittsburgh.
That includes good schools, economic opportunities and communities that are safe and affordable, Shapiro said.
“We may not all agree on how to get there, but what’s clear is every single Pennsylvanian should have the freedom to chart their own course and the opportunity to succeed no matter what you look like, where you come from, who you love or who you pray to,” the governor said to applause from sign-waving supporters.
Another event was scheduled Thursday evening in Philadelphia.
Shapiro, 52, won the governor’s office in 2022.
The governor was considered as a running mate for then-Vice President Kamala Harris — who opted instead for Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz — in the last presidential election and is widely considered a potential White House contender in 2028.
Pennsylvania’s Republican party has endorsed state Treasurer Stacy Garrity to challenge Shapiro this year.
The Pennsylvania GOP in a social media post Thursday wrote, “The facts are clear: Josh Shapiro doesn’t care about Pennsylvania, he only cares about himself and his next step on the political ladder.”
In his remarks, which lasted about 25 minutes, Shapiro spoke of serving others.
“As you all know, for me, public service is grounded in my faith and in my family,” said Shapiro, who is Jewish. “My faith has called me to serve others with empathy and a devotion to repairing the world around me.”
He touted his administration’s work to provide free breakfast for all school children, invest in special education and increase apprenticeship opportunities.
Shapiro said his administration has funded additional law enforcement and violence prevention initiatives as gun violence has dropped 42% in the commonwealth. He also trumpeted Pennsylvania’s economic growth, energy creation and tax cuts.
The governor said his work has “only just begun.”
But the state’s Republican Party and its chairman, Greg Rothman, would be happy to see it end.
“Pennsylvanians have had enough of Josh Shapiro’s lack of leadership and broken promises,” Rothman said in a prepared statement titled, “What Josh Shapiro ‘Got Done’: Flip-Flopping, Scandals, and Broken Promises” — a cheeky reference to the governor’s frequently invoked slogan, “Get stuff done.”
Rothman praised Garrity.
“Stacy Garrity is a proven warrior who served her country with honor, earned the trust of voters statewide, and received more votes than any candidate in the history of our commonwealth,” Rothman said.
“She actually gets stuff done, she doesn’t just talk about it on the campaign trail,” he said.
Shapiro acknowledged many Pennsylvanians are worried as costs skyrocket, small businesses struggle and benefits from the federal government are at risk.
“I will not let anyone mess with a Pennsylvanian,” Shapiro said, vowing that he would protect women’s reproductive rights, union rights and states’ rights.
Lt. Gov. Austin Davis will again run alongside Shapiro.
“I didn’t get involved in public service for a title or for a spotlight,” Davis said.
Davis, a McKeesport native, said his motivation is ensuring Pennsylvania is the kind of place where he wants to raise his 2-year-old daughter, Harper.
“I’ll do everything in my power to leave you a Pennsylvania and a country that is safer, fairer and more hopeful than the one I inherited,” Davis said. “That’s what I want for all Pennsylvania’s children.”
Davis said the Shapiro administration secured $25 million for a childcare recruitment and retention program in an effort to support people caring for youth. The administration also tripled the childcare tax credit and restored the Office of Gun Violence Prevention.
Shapiro urged people to come together rather than allowing “our party registration to shut us off from our neighbors.”
“Democrat, Republican, independent, we are all Pennsylvanians first,” Shapiro said. “I’m honored to be a governor for all Pennsylvanians.”
Top Allegheny County officials voiced strong support for the governor before he took the stage.
“Right now, just a couple miles down the road, working with the county, we have a brand new, couple-billion-dollar airport,” Pittsburgh Mayor Corey O’Connor said, referring to the new terminal at Pittsburgh International Airport. “That airport … probably within a hundred days is going to be welcoming hundreds of thousands of visitors from across the country and the world for the NFL Draft. That draft would not have come to Pittsburgh without the help of Gov. Shapiro.”
O’Connor said he was grateful for Shapiro’s role in revitalizing Point State Park and making other improvements Downtown ahead of the 2026 NFL Draft — and for the governor’s help watching his kids during his mayoral inauguration Monday.
Shapiro championed a massive $600 million revitalization effort for Downtown Pittsburgh.
“For a guy who lives on the other side of the state and is an Eagles fan, he has put Allegheny County natives in top positions in his administration,” Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato said, citing Davis and Rick Siger, a Pittsburgh native and secretary of the Department of Community and Economic Development, as examples.
Innamorato said Shapiro has shown up for Western Pennsylvania. When massive storms struck the area last spring, she said, Shapiro surveyed the damage with her and talked with residents who were left without power.
When a fatal explosion rocked a U.S. Steel plant in Clairton, Shapiro again made the trek to this side of the state.
“He came,” Innamorato said. “He met with the families. He met with the workers. He offered condolences and comfort in a really difficult time for that union, that workplace and our region.”
Shapiro also provided additional mobile air monitoring to ensure the community was safe after the blast.
Eugene DePasquale, chair of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, highlighted the governor’s efforts to cut red tape for businesses and bolster public safety.
“We’ve seen over the last four years what this governor can do when it comes to getting stuff done,” DePasquale said.