GOP VP hopeful JD Vance believes Democratic grassroots activists “wouldn’t take a Jewish nominee.“

Despite being what some pundits considered the “obvious” choice for Kamala Harris, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro was passed over to be Harris’ running mate. Instead, Harris chose fellow progressive Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

Shapiro, a practicing Jew, has a relatively high approval rating in the Keystone State: nearly 50% of Pennsylvania voters like the job he’s doing compared to just 31% disapproving. Some believe his popularity could have easily delivered the Democratic ticket his home state, a must-win for both Harris and Trump.

During the campus protests against Israel’s war on Hamas this spring and in the lead-up to the announcement Harris’ vice-presidential running mate, Shapiro was subject to particularly virulent and offensive attacks from progressive and pro-Hamas groups. He was given the nickname “Genocide Josh” by left-wing groups for his support of Israel. Philadelphia’s Democratic Socialists of America argued his support “of the Zionist project in Palestine” disqualified him to be Vice President.

One UPenn student who has taken on rising antisemitism at colleges and universities, Eyal Yakoby, thinks Harris not picking Shapiro was a missed opportunity. Harris could have “show[ed] the world, that we’re not getting consumed by these fringe radical groups.”

Many American Jews, which have been a reliable Democratic voting bloc for nearly a century, feel a sense of antisemitism in efforts to sink Shapiro’s chances, One rabbi from Manhattan told The New York Times “there’s a kind of suspicion” among Jewish Democrats “that maybe it had something to do with” Shapiro’s “Jewishness.” Even Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) believed Shapiro’s religion “clearly was a major factor.”

Despite having not been selected as Harris’ running mate, Gov. Shapiro is dutifully campaigning for and with the Democrats’ presidential ticket. He spoke to a campaign rally crowd in Philadelphia shortly before Vice President Harris and her running mate took the stage.

Shapiro’s commitment to the ticket didn’t stop GOP vice presidential nominee Ohio Sen. JD Vance from criticizing Harris’ pick, saying Shapiro wasn’t chosen because “grassroots activists in their party wouldn’t take a Jewish nominee.”