'That's very helpful': Kamala Harris said to have adopted a 'secret weapon' in swing state

He was on the shortlist for a vice presidential spot, but in the end, it was Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN). Still, Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA) has become Kamala Harris' "secret weapon," said Politico.

The governor has become one of the biggest advocates, traveling through Pennsylvania, the Midwest, and the South.

“Let me tell you what my faith teaches me,” he told a crowd at a rally this week. “No one is required to complete the task, but neither are we free to refrain from it.”

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Behind the scenes, he confessed that he's lobbying Harris to adopt his policy of eliminating rules mandating college degrees for many federal government jobs. This issue could change the economy for working-class Americans.

Shapiro is also using up his well-curated political capital on Harris, trying to help her win his state.

"Shapiro said that he’s hustling because the stakes in the election are sky-high. But his own image is also on the line. He will be judged, fairly or not, on whether he delivers his state for Harris," said Politico.

Meanwhile, voters are looking at Harris, questioning why Shapiro wasn't her choice.

“Shapiro wrote the playbook on how to win in Pennsylvania,” said public affairs executive Larry Ceisler, who has known Shapiro for years. “He spent a lot of time in the non-urban and suburban counties in Pennsylvania, and put up good numbers there — in fact, won some of those counties. So if the Harris campaign is listening to him and his experiences, that’s very helpful.”

A key piece of that strategy was in promising voters he'd govern as a moderate and reassure workers who might use their hands or live in rural areas that he respects them and their work. His effort to throw out college degree requirements is part of that.

Shapiro found success in 2022, in part, by campaigning in "forgotten places across Pennsylvania." Now Harris is following that path too.

“She’s showing up in communities that I think historically have felt ignored by national candidates,” said Shapiro.

Trump has succeeded with working-class voters in battleground states like Pennsylvania. In fact, White non-college voters make up a key part of Trump's base.

"And Harris’ success in Pennsylvania will depend on her ability to navigate grievances among blue-collar voters as Trump and his allies knock her with millions of dollars of TV ads painting her as a far-left radical from San Francisco who’s to blame for high prices," said the report.

Shapiro thinks Harris is making the right case and that it's working, but he won't stop until the polls close.

“[Trump] violated the law and he refused to accept the will of the people and the election result, and he tried to stop the peaceful transfer of power. And so if past is prologue, of course I’m worried,” he said. “That is why I’m working as hard as I am to elect Kamala Harris.”

Read the full report here.