Pennsylvania's Democratic governor could give Harris a polling boost in the key swing state

In battleground Pennsylvania, the presidential race is still taking shape.

The Keystone State's popular Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro is reportedly in serious contention to become Vice President Kamala Harris' running mate.

"It's going to be a tough sell for Donald Trump to win if [Governor] Shapiro is on the ticket," predicted Anna Marie Politsopoulous, who supports Trump.

Back in 2022, Shapiro won a race for governor against a Donald Trump-backed candidate by nearly 15 percentage points.

"I like Josh Shapiro," Jayne Blake, a Democrat who supports Harris, told Scripps, adding that her husband, who is a Republican, "supports Josh [Shapiro]."

According to recent polls, Harris may need Shapiro's boost here.

While a New York Times/Siena College Poll from early July shows Trump leading President Joe Biden by several percentage points, Harris' poll numbers still haven't stabilized.

Several recent polls show the race within or close to the margin of error.

"I think it's pretty close," Congressman Dan Meuser, a Pennsylvania Republican, told Scripps on Wednesday before delivering remarks at a Trump rally in Harrisburg.

"I do think that President Trump is probably up two or three," Meuser said.

"I mean, he was up five to six with Biden, so I don't think there's been that much of a tick up," he added

The near assassination of the former president in early July in Butler, Pennsylvania, appears to have galvanized his supporters.

Philips Banks, who said he has previously voted for Trump but had not previously attended a rally or purchased merchandise, lined up Wednesday afternoon to see the former president speak in Harrisburg.

"When they shot him, I went out, and I've got signs in my yard, and I've got shirts and hats," Banks said.

With 19 electoral votes, Pennsylvania is the biggest prize of the battleground states. Both candidates doing are whatever they can for an edge, with Harris slated to hold her first rally with her yet-to-be-announced running mate in Philadelphia on Aug. 6.

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Part of why Trump chose JD Vance from neighboring Ohio was his appeal to White, working-class voters pivotal in the Keystone State.

Harris is now eyeing Gov. Shapiro for her own potential boost.

"It perhaps would make Pennsylvania more difficult, we shall see," Mr. Meuser told Scripps,

"Let's face it," he added, "in the past, the vice-presidential candidates have very little impact."