Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro announced his re-election campaign on Thursday in a speech foreshadowing themes that could double as the foundation of a potential 2028 presidential bid, as the Democrat detailed his fight against the “chaos and toxicity” in Washington, D.C.
Speaking at a carpenters training center in Pittsburgh, Shapiro ticked through his first-term accomplishments and pledged to fight in his second term to lower housing and energy costs on Pennsylvanians. He acknowledged that many in the state feel as if their freedoms are under attack — a theme he put at the center of his first run for the governor’s office in 2022.
“The solution for curing the divisions of America is to refuse to become part of them, refuse the personal attacks, refuse the whitewashing of our shared history and refuse the scapegoating of others,” said Shapiro, who did not mention President Donald Trump in his address.
He added that in “every chapter of our American story, it’s been ordinary Pennsylvanians, ordinary Americans” who have “been willing to do that hard work” of moving the country forward.
“No one is coming to do it for us,” Shapiro said. “Right now, that task falls to each of us. I know it’s easier to see the chaos and just turn off the TV, retreat and hope someone else does the work. ... We are a state of builders, a state of doers and a state of get s--- done-ers.”
Shapiro, who is also holding a rally in Philadelphia later Thursday and released a launch video at the start of the day, won his last gubernatorial race in a landslide and twice prior won statewide contests for state attorney general.
He is likely to face state Treasurer Stacy Garrity in the fall, as Republicans have coalesced around her campaign and appear to have avoided a messy and contentious primary fight. State Sen. Doug Mastriano, who faced Shapiro in 2022, announced Wednesday he would not make another run for the governorship.
On Tuesday, Shapiro’s campaign announced he was entering 2026 with more than $30 million in cash on hand after raising about $10 million in the fourth quarter last year, bringing his 2025 haul north of $23 million.
Shapiro enjoys high approval and favorability ratings in the state. A Quinnipiac University survey in October found 60% of Pennsylvania voters approved of Shapiro’s job performance, while 58% viewed him favorably. That survey showed him with a 16-point edge over Garrity in a 2026 matchup.
Garrity’s campaign has consistently attacked Shapiro for raising money from out-of-state donors and for being focused on a potential presidential bid while leading the commonwealth.
“Josh Shapiro is more concerned with a promotion to Pennsylvania Avenue than serving hardworking Pennsylvanians,” Garrity said in a statement following Shapiro’s address, chastising his performance and adding, “Pennsylvanians are the hardest working, most compassionate, strongest people in the nation, and together we will return Pennsylvania to our rightful place as a national and global leader.”
In his speech, Shapiro touted Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate, job growth under his administration, private sector investments, energy production and permitting reform.
“More jobs, more opportunity and more freedom,” Shapiro said. “Now we’ve got the only state economy in the Northeast that’s growing.”
“I’m also here to say we’ve only just begun,” he added. “We’ve got more stuff to do, we’ve got more people to help, and we’ve got more problems to solve, and so with a servant’s heart and an ear to your concerns, progress made, and with a hunger to do more for you, I am here to announce that I am running for re-election as governor of this great commonwealth.”
Following 2025 elections in which Democrats scored wins while focusing on affordability and cost-of-living issues, Shapiro said in his next term the focus must be on protecting “the possibility of success while making life more affordable for those struggling to get by, care for those who are sick, and ensure that the economic changes of tomorrow lift up all Pennsylvanians and leave no one behind.”
“We have more to do to cut costs and give more Pennsylvanians a chance to get ahead,” he said. “So we’re going to build on that work that we’ve done to cut taxes and put more money back in your pockets.”
He ticked off goals, including raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour, raising home ownership rates, and “holding those companies accountable who are raising our electric bills.”
A major political initiative for Shapiro this election is to flip as many as four U.S. House districts in Pennsylvania — races that could determine control of the chamber next year. His party also has the opportunity to help flip a handful of contested state Senate races that will determine whether he gets to work with a Democratic-controlled state legislature for the first time in his governorship.
“You have the ability, right here in your hands in Pennsylvania, to decide to power in the U.S. House of Representatives,” Shapiro said Thursday. “And you’ve got the power to help me win a trifecta in Harrisburg, where the legislature is divided by a mere three seats.”
Shapiro is set to embark on a national book tour later this month for the release of his upcoming memoir, “Where We Keep the Light,” and he has put increased focus in recent months on the issue of rising political violence. The governor has dealt with episodes of political violence repeatedly in his state, including the attempt on Trump’s life in Butler in 2024 and a politically motivated firebombing of his own home last year.
“Don’t lose sight of the fact that you’ve got a privilege to live here in Pennsylvania,” Shapiro said Thursday, “the biggest swing state of all that always decides it all.”
