Summary
Josh Shapiro is the 48th Governor of Pennsylvania, serving since January 2023. A Democrat, he previously served as Pennsylvania Attorney General (2017-2023), where he gained prominence for leading the investigation into sexual abuse by Catholic priests and helping negotiate the largest opioid settlement in state history. He is considered a moderate Democrat with strong bipartisan appeal in Pennsylvania, a critical swing state. Shapiro has built a reputation as an effective administrator and coalition-builder, successfully managing high-profile crises like the I-95 highway reconstruction following a truck fire. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, but raised in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Shapiro is an observant Conservative Jew and the third Jewish governor in Pennsylvania history. He is married to his high school sweetheart, Lori, and has four children.
Background
Joshua David Shapiro was born June 20, 1973, in Kansas City, Missouri, and was raised in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, where his father Steven served as a pediatrician in the U.S. Navy and his mother Judi was a retired educator. He studied political science at the University of Rochester and earned his Juris Doctor from Georgetown University. Before entering elective office, he worked as a senior adviser to U.S. Senator Robert Torricelli. Shapiro was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 2004, representing the 153rd district until 2012. He then served on the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners from 2012 to 2017, marking the first time Republicans lost control of the county under his leadership. In 2016, he was elected Pennsylvania Attorney General, where he served two terms until his 2022 gubernatorial election. He is an observant Conservative Jew, has been a vocal supporter of Israel, and met his wife Lori in ninth grade at a Hebrew academy. They married in 1997 and have four children: Sophia (22), Jonah (19), Max (15), and Reuben (13).