After Massive Wins Up and Down the Ballot, Governor Josh Shapiro Brings Message of Winning and Getting Stuff Done Everywhere
Governor Shapiro has built a broad coalition of strong leaders ready to get stuff done for Pennsylvanians in Harrisburg and Washington, D.C.
PENNSYLVANIA – Coming off of a decisive win in Tuesday night’s midterm elections, Governor Josh Shapiro sat down for a round of interviews to discuss the path to victory in this year’s elections that sent four strong Democratic leaders — Bob Harvie, Bob Brooks, Paige Cognetti, and Janelle Stelson — to Congress, expanded the Democratic majority in the State House, and flipped the State Senate for the first time in more than 30 years.
From Day One, Governor Shapiro has shown up in communities across the Commonwealth, listened to the people of Pennsylvania, and delivered results to make people’s lives better. The Governor fought tirelessly to help elect Democrats up and down the ballot who will help him keep getting stuff done for Pennsylvania — and on Tuesday night, voters all across this Commonwealth spoke resoundingly.
Read and watch highlights of Governor Shapiro’s latest interviews below:
Question: You won last night in Pennsylvania statewide by more than 20 points, a state that Donald Trump won just a couple years back. How did you do it?
Josh Shapiro: We showed up everywhere, we listened, and we delivered results. We got stuff done for folks. And I got to tell you, no matter where I went, even in communities that voted for Trump with you know 70-80 percent of the vote last cycle, I had people coming over to me in tears, just worried about our country. I had people coming over to me, talking to me about higher prices, farmers getting screwed right and left because of these tariffs. And a lot of these folks voted for Donald Trump. They made a different choice than I did in the last, you know, many elections. And the reality is, they were feeling the pain too. And I think they, along with others, just wanted to see real change… Folks kind of just took off the blue jersey and the red jersey, and they voted for America last night. They voted to condemn those small, selfish men that are taking advantage of our country, that are plundering our nation, and they sent a very clear message that they were sick and tired of it.
Question: I hope that Democrats use this as a mandate to make life better not to spend two years jacking with Donald Trump in hearings on C-SPAN sir. You know where I’m coming from, Governor?
Josh Shapiro: I could not agree with you more. I agree 100 percent with what you just said. Look, I think Democrats need to make very clear now that they control the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate that they’ve got an agenda that’s actually going to make life more affordable, end this freaking war, create more pathways to opportunity, and say to these small, selfish men who are plundering our country right now that we’re not going to like to get away with it any longer. I think they can do that while at the same time making sure there is real accountability in Washington.
CNN’s Election Night in America
Question: From what I learned in The Philadelphia Inquirer earlier today, is that you are on track to win 10 counties that President Trump won just two years ago. So, what are you taking away from last night? What’s your message to Pennsylvanians?
Josh Shapiro: My message to Pennsylvanians is: I’m going to be a governor for all Pennsylvanians, including in those communities, those counties that voted for Donald Trump. Look, two years ago they voted for lower prices, an end to the war, and as Trump likes to say, “draining the swamp.” And what’s happened over those last two years under Trump’s leadership prices have gone up. We’re engaged in more wars, including a war in Iran that has jacked up the cost of diesel and fuel for the American people. And the swamp isn’t drained. In fact, this is an unparalleled, unmatched level of corruption, something we’ve never seen in our country before. And I went to those communities and said to those folks who made a different choice than I did in the last presidential election, and said, “I’m here for you. I’m going to try and make things better for you in Pennsylvania. And if you join me in voting for these members of Congress that I’m supporting, they can be a check on Trump in D.C. and hopefully bring down costs and the war, and have real accountability for the corruption.”
MS NOW’s Deadline: White House
Question: Pennsylvania is a sort of a forever battleground… What do you have to offer the National Party as someone who won such a dominant victory last night in Pennsylvania?
Josh Shapiro: Look, I think we have to deliver real results. People are hurting, and they want to see us make a difference in their world. They also want to see us treat all communities with respect — show up in neighborhoods that maybe didn’t vote for us in the past, you know. Show up on a farmland where there might be different sentiment politically than what we share. And I think what you saw in Pennsylvania, what Amy Acton did in Ohio, Rob Sand in Iowa, Gina Hinojosa in Texas, and many others. I don’t want to, you know, exclude anybody. They showed up in communities where people felt forgotten and were hurt, and where our party historically hasn’t gone. They treated them with respect. I think what I see every day are people, even in communities that Donald Trump won, who kind of basically want the same things that folks in other communities, maybe more Democratic, want: good school for their kid or grandkid, a safe community, a job in a community they can afford to live in, and they want their rights and freedoms protected. I think in many ways now it’s incumbent on our party to deliver that, to treat people with respect, not to alienate folks. That’s what I’ve always done here in Pennsylvania. I think it’s led to our victories, and I think when you look at what we were able to do in those four congressional races, where I’ve recruited those candidates, these are common sense GSD, get stuff done Democrats, and they won. Same thing with our legislature. These are people who are going to make communities better.
Question: What should be set in motion on day one with the power that Democrats have now obtained?
Josh Shapiro: First off, it needs to be a sobering moment for Democrats. We got the keys to the car, and now we got to drive it responsibly. And I would say that requires us to be able to walk and chew gum… We have to have accountability for the lawlessness, the corruption that exists in the Trump administration. But at the same time, we’ve got to show that we can pass legislation that will actually bring down people’s costs and create more opportunity for people. And I think the committees of jurisdiction who need to do the accountability work, they got to get started on day one on that. The other committees that draft the legislation that can cut costs, they got to do that work. And it’s got to be done simultaneously. And I think the House and Senate have to work quickly to get some bills on the president’s desk that would reduce costs. And listen, hopefully he’ll sign them, because he’ll realize that it’s his only avenue for cutting costs. But if he vetoes it, then I think we’ve got to make very clear who is the reason why costs are going up. And while Democrats are trying to do things to reduce costs, Donald Trump continues to be an impediment to that, and contributing to higher prices.
Question: You have also flipped the state Senate for the Democrats for the first time since 1992. What specific issues are at the top of your priority list?
Josh Shapiro: You know, first we’re going to put a bill on my desk in January to raise our minimum wage to 15 bucks an hour, every state around us has raised their minimum wage. Heck, even West Virginia has raised their minimum wage higher than Pennsylvania. This is something Republicans have been blocking literally for decades. I also want to codify abortion rights into our constitution here in the Commonwealth. Given the downfall of Roe, we have to have more freedom and more protections here in Pennsylvania. We got to build more housing, more infrastructure, invest in cops and kids to ensure that our communities are safe and kids are learning. There’s a whole bunch of things that Republicans have been blocking for years. I want to get that done in the first 100 days with our trifecta. I know most of your viewers at home are focused on the U.S. Senate this morning, but here in Pennsylvania, we won our Pennsylvania Senate for the first time in almost 40 years, and it was a rebuke of the Republicans who lined up and enabled Donald Trump, who stopped progress, and now it’s going to give me a chance to get even more stuff done here in Pennsylvania.
Question: I know that a good governor can make a lot of change, right? So I’m hoping that change comes here in Texas… We delivered yesterday and all across the country so I’m proud of my community, and I hope now Democrats, you know, do their part in power to deliver results as well and continue working together.
Josh Shapiro: You’re exactly right. You should be proud. I mean, look, the Latino community was a huge difference maker here in Pennsylvania. I mean, I won a county that Democrats typically don’t win. The large Latino population, they came out. They came out with purpose. They voted for me. They voted for the other Democrats on the ballot. And literally, as a result of their votes, they not only gave me a second term, but they gave me a Democratic trifecta for the first time in 40 years, and because of that, we’re going to raise the minimum wage, we’re going to invest in our small businesses, in our schools, in our communities — all the stuff that I would hear over and over again from the community. So a lot of power and they used it.
Question: You win with a purpose to create change, to make people’s lives better. So, how do you see the path forward for Democrats all over the country?
Josh Shapiro: Carlos, you’re spot on. I think I literally said that last night in my speech, you know, winning the election is the first step, but the most important step is how you govern. So now, in Pennsylvania, and with the members of Congress that we’re sending to Washington, we’re going to make sure that we have a check on Donald Trump and the small, selfish men, who are wreaking havoc on our country, and at the same time, we’re going to be focused on investing in small businesses, in public safety, in our schools, in our main streets, and a whole lot more, raising wages and cutting taxes. This is all stuff that’s on my 100-day agenda here in Pennsylvania.
Question: Once we have the Democrats now in power, the objective is to govern, not to fight over who’s the real Democrat. So how do we navigate that?
Josh Shapiro: [Tuesday] was clearly a repudiation of the small, selfish men who have been trying to plunder this country, and it was also a call from the American people to say we need real results. We need to see prices come down. We need to see these wars end. We need to see accountability for the corruption in Washington, and we need to see an end to this chaos. And so, I think it is critically important now that Democrats, now that we’ve been given the keys to the car here, we’re able to drive it, drive it effectively. I think we need to force the president to [have] bills on his desk that actually cut costs and see if he’s going to veto it or see if he’s going to sign it. But most importantly, Democrats need to show that we can lead, and as we do here in Pennsylvania, get stuff done. You know, I was proud to, you know, draft into this race for GSD Democrats running for Congress, we got them all through last night, and they want to go to Washington and be part of a majority that gets stuff done. And so that’s what I think we need to now deliver for the American people. There’s a lot of responsibility on our shoulders here, but I’m confident that Speaker Jeffries, Leader Schumer, and the members that got elected last night can do it.
Question: One of the storylines out of 2024 is that Trump got all of these young men, and all of these young men were becoming MAGA… The latest data was actually under 30, almost 70 percent swung for Democrats.
Josh Shapiro: We registered more college students in this election cycle for Democrats than any other election in modern Pennsylvania political history, and these were, you know, young people again just on college campuses. I know your point was a little bit broader, but it shows that young people, young men, really feel like they also got sold a bill of goods by Trump. So look, whether you’re a farmer, a Republican in a rural community, or whether you’re a college student somewhere in Pittsburgh or Philly or someplace in between, you both understand the same thing: Trump screwed you, and he made life worse for you, and he sold you a bill of goods the last few times, and I think the truth is now catching up to him.
Question: A lot of House Democrats are scrubbing in, rolling up their sleeves, getting ready to issue subpoenas to investigate. We talked about the chair of the Oversight Committee of the Democrats or the ranking member saying “lawyer up” in a post on X. How do you view that? Where do you think that should be on the priority list?
Josh Shapiro: I think there has to be accountability, and at the same time, there has to be action on the issues that matter most to the American people. There were certainly people here in Pennsylvania and across the country who showed up and voted to reject Donald Trump’s corruption, and there has to be accountability for that, both with him and those who enable him. But that can’t be what consumes Washington. What we really need to do is focus on getting stuff done, on delivering results that reduce costs, that increase access and affordability for healthcare, and a whole lot more. And I’m confident that Speaker Jeffries, Leader Schumer, the other leaders in Washington, who have now been given this trust by the American people, I’m confident that they can do this work where they can create accountability and also get stuff done.
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