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Pennsylvania Dem accuses potential Harris VP pick Gov. Josh Shapiro of sexism, covering up sexual harassment
BETHLEHEM, Pa. — A Democrat running for statewide office issued a scathing critique of her party mate and governor, potential vice-presidential nominee Josh Shapiro, leading to a war of words with the Pennsylvania party chief — which she’s continuing in The Post.
Treasurer nominee Erin McClelland appeared to accuse Shapiro of sexism and covering up sexual harassment and imply he wouldn’t be satisfied playing second fiddle in a Tuesday night tweet.
“I want a VP pick that’s secure enough to be second under a woman, is content to be VP & won’t undermine the President to maneuver his own election & doesn’t sweep sexual harassment under the rug,” wrote McClelland, who is running against GOP incumbent Treasurer Stacy Garrity.
“I want someone that can speak to rural voters. That is @RoyCooperNC,” McClelland’s post continued. North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper is another much-talked-about potential veep pick for presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris.
McClelland noted she did not mention Shapiro’s name directly in her tweet but told The Post her concerns about the extent of the governor’s presidential ambitions should he be added to the ticket.
“If I were in [Harris’] situation, I would think very strongly about the difficulties that some women experience being in a top-level position, and having men around them that have to be satisfied with being second, third or answering to a woman,” she said.
While McClelland did not offer details on her accusation Shapiro “swept sexual harassment under the rug,” The Philadelphia Inquirer said she “was likely referring to a sexual harassment scandal in Shapiro’s office last year.”
The scandal involved a woman who accused her boss, Shapiro legislative liaison Mike Vereb, of sexual harassment. The governor’s office quietly reached a $295,000 settlement with her.
Vereb, who’s been close to Shapiro for decades, did not resign from his Cabinet-level position until months after an internal complaint was filed, the Inquirer reported.
McClelland’s tweet put her at odds with other Pennsylvania Democrats who have supported Shapiro for VP — and even raised the ire of state Democratic Party Chairman Sharif Street.
“Look, everybody’s entitled to their opinion,” Street said at a Wednesday event promoting Harris.
“But I’ll tell you, I’m offended by the post,” he continued. “I’m personally offended, and I’ll have conversations with our nominee for treasurer separately.”
Speaking to The Post, McClelland said she hasn’t spoke to Street since criticizing Shapiro but believes their relationship will be “fine.”
“Someone is offended by a woman with a strong opinion. Color me thunderstruck,” she declared.
McClelland said she will support the Democratic ticket no matter whom Harris picks but was compelled to praise Cooper because of the North Carolina governor’s record and ability to attract young voters — especially as compared with Shapiro.
Cooper “seems very comfortable in his own skin and does not seem to have very strong ambitions to be president,” McClelland said.
“I don’t think that he would undercut” Harris, she added. “He’s good on public education, which is an issue that’s important to me.”
McClelland is not alone on the left, though.
She joins 28 anti-school-choice organizations that oppose Shapiro’s candidacy. The organizations penned a letter to Harris urging her to pick one of three other Democratic governors as her running mate — and Cooper was on that list.
The gov, who served as Keystone State attorney general from 2017 to 2023, was handily elected to the position over hard-right GOP candidate Doug Mastriano in 2022.
Shapiro received acclaim last year for his leadership during the repair of a collapsed Interstate 95 bridge in Philadelphia but has been criticized on both sides of the aisle for his work on school choice — albeit for very different reasons.
Republicans are disappointed he caved last summer on the state Senate’s school-choice bill, which he’d backed before that.
Dems have hit him because they oppose school choice overall.