The Pennsylvania Governor will try to help his party in two key states for Democrats ahead of the 2026 midterms.
Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA) will campaign for Reps. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) and Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) in key gubernatorial races. Shapiro announced his campaign stops alongside a preview of a fundraiser to benefit Sherrill’s campaign later this month. The governor also plans to attend several fundraisers for Sherrill in East Brunswick to coincide with the start of early voting, before traveling to Virginia for two events with Rep. Spanberger’s campaign in Norfolk and Portsmouth.
The announcement from Shapiro comes after positive poll results showed Sherrill with a slight lead in the state. According to data from a Rutgers University-Eagleton poll, Sherrill holds a close 5-point lead over opponent Jack Ciattarelli. Other polls from Decision Desk show Sherrill averaging 48.6% to Ciatterelli’s 44.6%. Despite the polls, insiders from the Democrat party still hold reservations about their chances this November after President Trump made remarkable gains in the historically blue state and lost by 4 points to Kamala Harris last year.
Other polls show gains for Spanberger’s campaign in Virginia, with Quinnipiac estimating her lead at roughly nine points. Spanberger’s race was initially considered an uphill battle to replace incumbent Republican Glenn Youngkin, who is barred from seeking a second term due to Virginia’s rule against governors serving back-to-back terms. Spanberger, a former CIA officer who served three terms in the state’s 7th Congressional District, found herself at the center of controversy recently after she refused to drop her endorsement of State Attorney General candidate Jay Jones who wished violence against a political opponent’s children in leaked text messages.
Spanberger was not alone in the controversy, with several other top Democrats from the state – including former Vice Presidential Candidate Tim Kaine – not condemning Jones’ comments or calling on him to exit the race. President Trump, himself a victim of political violence, waded into the debate, calling Jones “sick” and “demented”, before demanding he withdraw. Spanberger faced criticism for appearing to sidestep during a recent debate both her endorsement of Jones, and her public disagreement with Gov. Youngkin on a recent executive order banning men from women’s locker restrooms in public spaces.
Shapiro holds an approval rating of over 60%, making him one of the most popular Democrats in the country. The approval rating is unusually high territory for a swing-state governor just one year from his own reelection bid. Mikie Sherrill’s opponent Jack Ciatterelli is one of several Republicans to praise Shapiro, most recently for calling out New York City Mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani, a self-described socialist and vehement anti-Israel activist.
For Pennsylvania Democrats, Shapiro’s time out of state comes during a tense budget standoff with Republicans. Lawmakers have been unable to find common ground, with several key issues remaining, prompting State Treasurer Stacy Garrity to announce her own bid to unseat Gov. Shapiro in 2026. Garrity criticized Shapiro for his travel while promoting a book tour as no budget has been passed and signed into law in Pennsylvania.
