Pennsylvania’s Attorney General Josh Shapiro is set to formally announce his run for governor on Wednesday at an event in Pittsburgh, a campaign spokesman has confirmed.
Campaign communications director Will Simons confirmed to several news outlets on Monday that Shapiro, 48, will be entering the 2022 race months after expressing interest in running for the position.
Shapiro, a Montgomery County Democrat, was sworn in as attorney general in January 2017, winning election with no law enforcement background and little practical courtroom experience. He was re-elected to a second term in November 2020.
Before holding that position, he served as a state representative and chair of the county’s commissioners board. A self-described progressive, he led a nationally prominent investigation in 2018 into sexual abuse of children by clergy in six of the state’s Roman Catholic dioceses.
If Shapiro gets the Democratic nomination, it’s far from clear whom he would face in the fall 2022 election.
The large and growing pool of potential and declared GOP candidates seeking their party’s nod includes state senators, business leaders, a former congressman, and others, including former congressman Lou Barletta, Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Gale, and former Corry Mayor Jason Monn. Others include vice chairman of the American Conservative Union Charlie Gerow, Pittsburgh attorney Jason Richey, retired UPS security and public affairs executive John Ventre, and cardiothoracic surgeon Nche Zama.
Shapiro has been endorsed by Gov. Tom Wolf, a fellow Democrat, and shown himself to be a formidable fundraiser in two successful statewide runs for office, with $2.7 million in his campaign account at the beginning of 2021.
He is largely considered the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination, and his scheduled announcement effectively clearing the field of potential rivals.
Shapiro and his wife, Lori, have four children and live in the Philadelphia suburb of Montgomery County. A graduate of the University of Rochester and Georgetown Law, he worked as a congressional staffer before launching his own political career in 2004.
The Epoch Times has contacted Shapiro’s office for comment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
