Gov. Josh Shapiro drew national attention last year, but 2024 will bring a big test of his bipartisan promises

HARRISBURG — Gov. Josh Shapiro promised to work across the aisle to get things done.

In his first year, Shapiro rose in his popularity and national profile, in large part thanks to his swift reopening of a collapsed portion of I-95 within 12 days, showing his administration’s ability to creatively solve problems. The 50-year-old Democrat from Abington also cites more than a dozen smaller wins as he worked with the divided legislature, including a long-sought increase in property tax and rent rebates for seniors and probation reforms.

But he floundered at the negotiating table when he was unable to convince Democratic lawmakers to support a school voucher plan he helped create — leading to a monthslong budget standoff — and his administration faced scandal, paying a $295,000 settlement to a woman who accused his top legislative liaison and close confidant of sexual harassment.

The next year, however, will be a critical test of Shapiro’s ability to make bipartisan deals, and it could define his leadership in Pennsylvania — and nationally. Debates over the state’s education system and how to fund it will be at the center of the action.

Shapiro will propose during his budget address next month a new way to fund Pennsylvania’s public schools after the Commonwealth Court ruled the current system unconstitutional. He’s also expected to again work to pass a private-school voucher program — a long-held Republican priority that Shapiro supports, but that put him at odds with the state teacher’s union and members of his own party last year.

“As you know, I’m very competitive,” Shapiro said in an interview last week. “This year, I want to do even more than we did last year, and so we’re going to continue to work really hard, put an aggressive agenda out there and find common ground.”

Those debates will play out in Harrisburg during a critical election year, as Pennsylvania attracts national attention as a key swing state in the presidential election, and as a slate of down-ballot races will determine the balance of the legislature and state row offices for the remainder of the governor’s term.

Pennsylvania’s ambitious first-term governor — who is rumored to be eyeing a 2028 run for president — will likely be a frequent surrogate for President Joe Biden. And his agenda and accomplishments will play a role in shaping the state’s national image as the national Democratic Party looks for potential successors to Biden.

Shapiro, unlike some of his predecessors, has no singular focus for his administration. For former Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf, it was public education. For former Republican Gov. Tom Corbett, it was cutting government spending. But Shapiro has focused his administration more broadly and says his priorities include slashing red tape for businesses to put more money back into Pennsylvania residents’ pockets.

He goes back and forth between saying his administration’s motto is “Get stuff done” and “Get sh— done,” depending on the crowd.

Shapiro is good at what he does: He works hard for the handful of Republican issues he agrees with, like school choice or keeping the William Penn statue in Philadelphia’s Welcome Park, to the chagrin of some Democrats. He publicly challenged the University of Pennsylvania over comments about antisemitism on campus from its former president Liz Magill, drawing national attention and adding to pressure for her resignation.

He remains consistent in pushing top Democratic priorities, too, like raising the state’s $7.25 minimum wage or passing statute of limitations reform for child sex abuse survivors. These are among his top priorities going into this year’s legislative session, he said.

But education will take center stage during budget negotiations as lawmakers in the Republican-controlled Senate and the House, where Democrats hold a one-seat majority, work to replace the unconstitutional school funding system. It’s not yet clear what solution Shapiro will propose in his budget address, and he declined to discuss details in an interview ahead of the Basic Education Funding Commission’s report released last week. That commission ultimately recommended a $9 billion plan over seven years to redo how the state funds its public schools.

Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward (R., Westmoreland), who has been one of Shapiro’s biggest critics since the July budget breakdown over school vouchers and has spoken only once to the governor since then, said she hopes Shapiro can work with Republicans on school funding. (Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman usually negotiates with the administration on behalf of Senate Republicans.)

“I hope this year proves that we’re able to communicate and work together to actually get stuff done, not just say it,” Ward said Thursday. “We have a great opportunity to put our education system as the best in the nation. We have a chance to do that. I hope we’re able to come together.”

Ward and other Republican leaders have emphasized they still want Shapiro to show his support for school vouchers by ensuring they’re made into law this year.

Rep. Peter Schweyer (D., Lehigh), who chairs the House Education committee and opposed private school vouchers, still said Shapiro had a great first year.

“We had that disagreement early on in his tenure, yet we still passed a budget that had a remarkable increase in education funding that included some big priorities for the governor, including free [school] breakfast,” he said.

However, Schweyer said he’s still a “hard no” on vouchers, after his committee held hearings across the state about vouchers and existing tax scholarship programs. That leaves Shapiro another uphill battle if he wants to make a name for himself and his future ambitions as a bipartisan leader willing to take on powerful teacher’s unions.

“If anything, the hearings galvanized my opposition to vouchers,” Schweyer said. “There’s not much more to say about that topic. I know where I am and I know where my caucus is.”

Shapiro said he’s not worried about the hand-wringing in Harrisburg. He believes Pennsylvanians are happy with the results — and polls seem to agree.

While Biden’s approval ratings are hovering around 40% in Pennsylvania, according to a poll released this month by Quinnipiac University, Shapiro’s have topped 59%.

The governor’s ratings remained high, despite a lengthy budget standoff and a sexual harassment scandal in his administration.

His first misstep occurred in June, when he cut a deal with Senate Republicans to create a private-school voucher program, but couldn’t get the Democrat-controlled House to support the proposal, so he line-item vetoed the program he helped create.

Then in September, when news broke that his former secretary of legislative affairs and close friend Mike Vereb resigned months after facing sexual harassment complaints from another Shapiro staffer, the governor faced criticism from female legislators.

But by December, Shapiro ended the year with a late-night press conference celebrating a final budget deal with legislative leaders from both parties. (Two top Republican leaders, Ward and House Minority Leader Bryan Cutler, notably did not attend.)

Shapiro still has some trust to re-earn among Republicans, Ward said.

“You need to not really pay attention to what someone says, you need to watch their feet,” Ward said. “You need to see what they do, not what they say.”

The governor, meanwhile, said he strives to keep improving his leadership — and the state.

”I constantly grade against myself, and always want to do better, always want to reach higher, always to be stronger, always want to get more stuff done,” Shapiro said. “And I’m glad that people have high expectations of our administration. And whatever your high expectations are, I have an even higher expectation of myself and our team.”