In presidential elections that will be decided by the narrowest of margins, every decision counts.
But did Kamala Harris make a mistake in choosing her running mate?
A new poll from DailyMail.com/JL Partners shows her tied with Donald Trump in the likely tipping point state of Pennsylvania.
Still, she would be ahead if she had added Governor Josh Shapiro to her ticket instead of Tim Walz of Minnesota.
When likely voters were asked who they would support, 47 percent said Harris/Shapiro, one point more than they would vote for Donald Trump and JD Vance.
The poll results show that Kamala Harris would have a narrow lead in Pennsylvania if she had chosen the state’s popular governor, Josh Shapiro, as her running mate.
But when it was Walz on the ticket, the rivals were tied at 47 points each.
The numbers confirm what both Democrats and Republicans said at the time: Harris may have missed a trick by passing the popular governor of a swing state that could decide who wins the election.
David Urban, Trump confidante and longtime Pennsylvania strategist, said: “Josh Shapiro is an incredibly talented, gifted political athlete.
“And I think it’s just a testament to Kamala Harris’ poor judgment and the inherent anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism in the Democratic Party that she didn’t pick such a clear winner.”
Shapiro is Jewish and has been governor since 2023.
Polls regularly rank him as the state’s most popular politician — more popular even than Taylor Swift, who spent her early life in West Reading, Pennsylvania.
However, as Harris made her decision, some progressives highlighted his stance on Israel and his criticism of pro-Palestinian protesters.
He may not have won a seat on the ticket, but Harris made a nod to the importance of his state, which represents 19 votes in the Electoral College, when she revealed her choice. She introduced Walz, the governor of Minnesota, as her running mate at a boisterous rally in Philadelphia.
Running mates rarely determine the outcome of elections.
Polls often show Josh Shapiro as Pennsylvania’s most popular politician
Harris surprised many commentators when she picked Tim Walz, governor of Minnesota, which is not a battleground state, to join her on the Democratic ticket
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But JL Partners co-founder James Johnson said Harris may have weakened her chances of victory with such a tight race.
‘Walz has not been a disaster by any means; even in the debate he technically lost to JD Vance, he didn’t turn off voters.
“But it’s hard to deny that choosing a hugely popular governor of the most important state might have been a smarter decision.
“This road is riddled with counterfactuals, not least whether Shapiro could have performed as well under the national spotlight. But for now, it seems like he would have been a better choice than Tim Walz.”
Polls showed Walz coming in second in his debate against Vance.
And he was forced to comment repeatedly on everything from his whereabouts during the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre to his position in the Electoral College.
For now, the elections are on a razor’s edge. The latest data from the JL Partners/DailyMail.com election model shows Trump in the lead, with a 58 percent chance of victory.
But that means the race will go to the extreme.
