Politics

Josh Shapiro says Texas won’t replace Pennsylvania as the ‘ultimate swing state’

But Josh Shapiro insists Texas isn’t going to replace Pennsylvania as the “ultimate swing state.” He needs it to be true.

✦ Extractive summary — built from the sources' own reporting•From 1 source•1 min read•Updated November 9, 2026, 3:00 PM UTC
Key points
  • You’re never going to get me to come off of Pennsylvania being the ultimate swing state.
  • “The common-sense approach we’ve taken to governing, the kind of candidates we recruited to run for Congress who won, I think that that can be a model for our party,” Shapiro told POLITICO by phone late last week.
  • Shapiro’s theory of the case for 2028 has long rested on his ability to win resoundingly and repeatedly in what has recently been the nation’s biggest battleground state.

And “it’s going to be important that we share our Pennsylvania model from what I would maintain … is still the ultimate swing state.” Shapiro continues to play coy about his presidential ambitions.

Do you think that Texas will take over from Pennsylvania as the nation's biggest swing state?

Additional details
  • He also flipped 11 counties President Donald Trump won in 2024 and, his team argued in a post-election memo shared first with POLITICO, showed “unique strength” with voters skeptical of the Democratic Party.
  • When POLITICO asked Shapiro his timeline to decide a 2028 run, he replied: “I just wrapped up a meeting with the legislative leaders and my senior team to work on our agenda going forward, and that's what I'm focused on right now.” Here’s more from POLITICO’s chat with Shapiro, edited and condensed for length.
  • I mean, they're a big state, and they were just won by two outstanding Democrats.
  • He plowed over $10 million into state Democrats’ campaign arms and helped recruit and cut ads for candidates across House and state Senate races.
  • I think in part that is correct, and that's why the first new law I want to pass in Pennsylvania is to put more money in people's pockets.

How this summary was made: extractive summary — built from the sources' own reporting. It is drawn only from the reporting of the sources listed below — read the originals for full detail. How we summarize →

Advertisement

Every article behind this summary — 1 article from 1 outlet