With the Pennsylvania primary over, the stage is set for this year’s local elections

When people think of the Pennsylvania primary, they either think of Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump winning the primary.

What they don’t know is that a lot of down-ballot candidates for local offices were selected as well, from State Representative all the way to US Senator. We were able to talk with one such primary victor.

Josh Shapiro (D): Running for Attorney General

Josh Shapiro is the Chair of the Board of Commissioners of Montgomery County, and beat fellow Democrats Steve Zappala and John Morganelli in the primary, getting over 47% of the vote on April 26.

“It felt great that all of the hard work we put in over the course of the primary paid off,” he said via email. He also said that he put over 21,000 miles on his car travelling to over 300 campaign stops in the three month primary process.

Now that Shapiro is pivoting towards the general election against Senator John Rafferty, saying that he has a “record of reform” from Montgomery County that he plans to bring with him to Harrisburg.

“The state Senator and I differ on several key issues,” he said. “Including the need for common sense gun safety laws, defending a woman’s right to choose, protecting and expanding the rights of LGBT Pennsylvanians and protecting our environment.”

Shapiro has also gotten a wide range of endorsements from newspapers, prominent Democrats, and Democratic-aligned organizations, including the Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Tribune, former Governor Ed Rendell, Senator Bob Casey, the Planned Parenthood PAC in Pennsylvania, President Barack Obama, and various labor unions.

Shapiro said he is “proud” of his list of endorsements. “But at the end of the day the endorsement that matters most is that of a voter,” he said. “So I will continue to share my message all across Pennsylvania to earn each and every vote.”

The Blackfriar Chronicle also reached out to state Senator John Rafferty, as well as Katy McGinty and Pat Toomey, the Democratic and Republican candidates for US Senator. They were not available for interview by the press date.