Several high-profile Republicans seized on Vice President Kamala Harris’s choice of Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) as her running mate, suggesting antisemitism in the Democratic Party influenced her decision not to choose a Jewish running mate in Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA).   

GOP vice presidential nominee Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) told reporters in Philadelphia on Tuesday that it seemed like Harris didn’t select Shapiro because Democrats were concerned “grassroots activists in their party wouldn’t take a Jewish nominee.”

“Many, many people said repeatedly that the reason Kamala Harris was going away from the Josh Shapiro selection is because they were worried about antisemitism,” Vance said. 

Later at a press conference, Vance again claimed that Harris did not choose Shapiro due to antisemitic attitudes within the Democratic Party.

“I genuinely feel bad that for days, maybe even weeks, the guy actually had to run away from his Jewish heritage because of what the Democrats are saying about him. I think that’s scandalous and disgraceful,” Vance said. “Whatever disagreements on policy you have about somebody, the fact that that race, the vice presidential race on the Democratic side, became so focused on his ethnicity, I think, is absolutely disgraceful.”

Earlier on Tuesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) emphasized that the governor from a critical swing state was “overlooked” for the top spot due to his Jewish heritage. 

“I think that clearly was a major factor, is that she was reluctant to put a vice presidential nominee on the ticket with Jewish heritage because they’re having a split in the Democratic Party,” Johnson said in an interview with the Hill. “They have a pro-Palestinian, in some cases pro-Hamas wing of the Democratic Party.”

Republicans have long sought to put the Israel-Hamas war at the center of the campaign, highlighting the long-standing Democratic divisions over the conflict. The pro-Palestinian protests that spread across the nation’s college campuses that openly displayed antisemitism this past spring put the spotlight on this sensitive issue. Republican Senate and House campaign arms utilized footage of the protests and launched ad campaigns this past spring, slamming vulnerable Democrats for not condemning them, according to reporting from Axios. 

“Choosing a running mate is Kamala Harris’ first major decision as the Democrat Party nominee, and choosing Far-Left Governor Tim Walz proves how dangerously liberal she is,” said Karoline Leavitt, the Trump campaign’s national press secretary, in a statement provided to the Washington Examiner. “Likewise, NOT choosing Josh Shapiro proves the Democrat Party is completely beholden to the demands of pro-Hamas terrorist sympathizers and has fully embraced anti-Semitism.”

Shapiro said he was grateful for the opportunity and stumped for the new Democratic ticket at a rally in Philadelphia on Tuesday.

“I’m going to be working my tail off to make sure we make Kamala Harris and Tim Walz the next leaders of the United States of America,” Shapiro said. 

Shapiro defends Jewish faith

The Pennsylvania governor took a moment to address the elephant in the room, speaking directly to the cameras.

“I want to just say this: I lean on my family and I lean on my faith, which calls me to serve. And I am proud of my faith,” he said.

Harris’s decision came after Shapiro had faced growing pressure from an outspoken group of far-left organizers who expressed opposition to Shapiro, an observant Jew, whose positions on Israel were largely aligned with other candidates on the vice presidential short list. The rhetoric used by the left-wing campaign, called “No Genocide Josh,” raised questions among some about whether it ultimately played a role in Harris’s selection. 

CNN commentator Van Jones emphasized the need for conversations about antisemitism within the Democratic Party after Harris’s running mate was announced. 

“You can be for the Palestinians without being an anti-Jewish bigot, but there are some anti-Jewish bigots out there,” Jones said Tuesday on CNN, following the announcement. “And there has to be conversations about how much of what just happened is caving into some of these darker parts in the party. So that’s going to have to get worked out. It’s going to have to get talked through.” 

Harris urged to push back on anti-Israel wing of Democratic Party

Some are downplaying the decision and are not portraying it as Harris bending to pressure from the Left.  

“On the one hand, there are many perfectly legitimate reasons why she might have chosen Governor Walz over Gov. Shapiro, whether it’s how he sees the electoral map or personal chemistry,” said Nathan Diament, the executive director of public policy for the Orthodox Union, in an interview with the Washington Examiner. “A clearly illegitimate reason would have been the antisemitic smear campaign that some extremists on the left wing of the Democratic Party were waging against Josh Shapiro.”

“I think it is imperative that Vice President Harris clearly communicates to the public, particularly to the American Jewish Community, why she thinks Tim Walz is her best running mate,” he said.

Diament emphasized it is on Harris to push back on the narrative that the progressive wing of the party was successful with their pressure campaign. 

“In a state like Pennsylvania, there are enough Jewish voters that in a closely contested election, they can just make the difference between whether Harris wins or Trump wins. And so she’s going to need to reassure the Jewish voters of Pennsylvania as well as Michigan and in Wisconsin, who want to feel comfortable with her,” he said.

A large majority of Jewish Americans have consistently voted for Democrats. Only 30% of Jewish voters supported Trump in 2020, while 69% supported Biden, according to AP VoteCast. Jewish voters have been one of the religious groups where support for Biden was strongest. 

Mark Mellman, the president of the Democratic Majority for Israel and a longtime Democratic pollster, said he does not believe antisemitism played a role in Harris’s decision, noting she is married to a Jewish man, second gentleman Doug Emhoff. 

“I think those accusations are just absurd, the person who made this choice has chosen Jewish people for important roles in her life, public and private,” Mellman said in an interview with the Washington Examiner. “There was a level of antisemitic speech, antisemitic invective from some, from a small element in the party that is really abhorrent and it needs to be condemned.”

The Democratic Party advanced an 80-page platform last month that touted the Biden administration’s support for Israel, despite efforts from a faction of far-left activists who pushed for changes in how the party approaches the Jewish state. Even though Biden is no longer at the top of the ticket, Mellman is confident the platform will still be utilized at the convention next month.

“The exact wording may change on some things because the candidate is Kamala Harris, it’s not Joe Biden, and that may change some nouns and pronouns and so on, but I don’t think it’s going to change anything in the substance,” Mellman said. 

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While some are disappointed that Harris did not choose Shapiro who could have made history as the first Jewish vice president if elected, other Democrats emphasized they trust Harris made the decision that was best for the ticket.

“Any decision will always be met with some kind of disappointment,” said Jon Reinish, a Democratic strategist. “I will say the Democratic Party is unified, and the Democratic Party wants to win. My assumption is that whomever had specific horses in the race in mind, and any bitter feelings that may exist, those are going to be swiftly put aside in the coming days.”