feature story
A Look at
JOSH SHAPIRO’S
JARR AD SAFFREN | STAFF WRITER
T hey sipped beers, ate ice cream and held
lively conversations around high-rise
tables. Th ey smiled; they laughed; they
even danced to the party playlist blaring
overhead. Some people stood on the balls of
their feet and watched CNN on one of the
many screens set up around Th e Greater
Philadelphia Expo Center.

But for the most part, the hundreds of
supporters of Jewish Democrat Josh Shapiro
knew what their result would be on Nov. 8.

Josh Shapiro addresses the crowd at his election night victory
Shapiro, Pennsylvania’s attorney general, an
party at The Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks.

Abington resident and a member of the Beth
Sholom Congregation in Elkins Park, would
become the commonwealth’s next governor.

Doug Mastriano. Th e Republican, a state senator who
“Th is is a great experience for anyone who’s here denied Donald Trump’s defeat in the 2020 U.S. pres-
tonight,” said Scott Holloman, 42, of Harleysville. “I idential election and participated in the Jan. 6, 2021
storming of the U.S. Capitol Building, took a full fi ve
have 100% faith that Josh will win.”
It happened around 11:15 p.m. On a big screen to days to concede. But that almost seemed beside the
the left of the stage in the Oaks, Montgomery County point. Th e Democrat leads by almost 15% and more
venue, CNN showed a graphic declaring Shapiro the than 700,000 votes with 98% of the vote counted.

winner. It seemed beside the point on Nov. 8 at the Expo
As media outlets called the race throughout the 10 Center, too. Aft er Shapiro’s running mate Austin
o’clock hour on social media, supporters moved from Davis addressed the crowd, the governor-elect walked
their high-rise tables in one room to the area in front onto the stage, waved to the people and smiled. Th en
of the stage in the next room. Once CNN called the he stepped to the podium.

“Rural, urban, suburban folks across this common-
race, attendees hollered and held up their “Shapiro
wealth, who I’ve had the opportunity to talk with,
for Governor” signs.

Shapiro, 49, had defeated his Republican opponent you know they basically all want the same thing,”
16 NOVEMBER 17, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
Shapiro said. “Th ey want a real opportunity
for good schools, safe communities and an
economy that just gives everybody a shot.”
Th e crowd clapped and hollered.

“We showed in this campaign that no
matter what you look like, where you come
from, who you love, or who you pray to, you
are valued here in Pennsylvania!” Shapiro
continued. “And we hear you!”
Th e supporters cheered in unison.

“And I can stand before you tonight, thanks
to all of you, in the birthplace of our democ-
racy, in the cradle of liberty, and look you in
the eye and say, ‘Because of you, our democ-
racy endures,’” Shapiro said later on.

Two years ago, Shapiro, in his role as attor-
ney general, defended Pennsylvania’s election process
from Trump’s lawsuits that attempted to overturn
President Joe Biden’s victory in the state. Mastriano,
in his role as a state senator, allied himself with
Trump and tried to pass a resolution that would have
allowed the state legislature to reject the result of the
vote and appoint delegates to the Electoral College.

As Mastriano himself wrote on his state Senate
website, “For the legislature to pass the resolution,
Governor (Tom) Wolf needed to call a special session
and he refused.”
During his campaign, the Republican said that as
governor, “I could decertify every (voting) machine
in the state with the stroke of a pen.” And the stroke
of Mastriano’s pen likely would have mattered a
Photos by Jarrad Saff ren
Election Night Victory Party



Josh Shapiro supporters at his election night
victory party on Nov. 8 in Montgomery County
Josh Shapiro supporters young and old enjoyed his victory party on election night in Oaks.

great deal. Th e last two presidential elections,
Trump’s win over Hillary Clinton in 2016 and
Biden’s victory over Trump in 2020, came down
to a few close states, including, and perhaps
especially, Pennsylvania. Biden beat Trump by
fewer than 100,000 votes in the Keystone State
in 2020; while Trump beat Clinton by about
44,000 in the commonwealth in 2016.

Th e Shapiro-Mastriano fi ght was about many
issues, including crime, the economy and a
woman’s right to choose to have an abortion.

But it was not an exaggeration to say that
the Democrat was pro-democracy while the
Republican was against it.

For that reason, even as the party at the Expo
Center started hours before CNN declared
Shapiro’s victory on Nov. 8, the attorney gen-
eral’s supporters in attendance were still a little
nervous. “I think it’ll probably be closer than we want it to
be,” said Jessica Rosenthal, 47, of Ambler.

Less than an hour aft er Rosenthal tempered her
expectations, CNN fl ashed an early count from the
PA governor’s race that showed Shapiro up by more
than 30 points. A few people around the Expo Center
cheered as they watched the TVs.

As the eight and then nine o’clock hours continued,
more results appeared on the screens. Around 9:30,
as people started walking over to the area in front of
the stage, an event staff member turned up the vol-
ume on the big screen to the left . CNN’s John King
was discussing Shapiro’s advantage, which remained
at about 30 points with almost a quarter of the vote
counted. Th e crowd clapped and hollered.

Over the next 45 minutes, votes continued to come
in, except Shapiro’s lead was now diminishing. It
dropped from around 30% to less than 20% to 11%.

One woman sent out a tweet congratulat-
ing Shapiro on beating an insurrectionist.

Philadelphia-area newspapers and television
stations started reporting the news of the local
man’s victory.

By the time CNN announced the result, it
was a formality. And when Shapiro walked out
on stage minutes later, with the crowd clapping,
cheering and holding up phones, he did not
even need to open his speech with some great
line ending in an exclamation point.

“I am so humbled to see all of you here
tonight,” he said, before thanking his wife Lori
Shapiro and pointing out their four children
Jonah, Sophia, Max and Reuben to the side of
the podium.

“I am proud to be a Pennsylvanian,” Shapiro
said later.

And then, for good measure, the Conservative
Jewish man who sits for Shabbat dinner with his
family each week paraphrased his favorite line from
the Talmud. Th e same one he spoke about during his
campaign kickoff speech at Penn State Abington in
October 2021.

“No one is required to complete the task, but nei-
ther are we free to refrain from it,” the governor-elect
said. Aft er Shapiro’s speech ended around midnight,
aft er he hugged his family members and waved to
supporters, and aft er he strolled off the stage, some
people walked out to their cars. Reporters hustled
back to their tables behind the TV camera riser to
fi le their stories. But the lights stayed on, the music
kept playing and a group of people started dancing
in front of the stage. JE
For the most part,
the hundreds of supporters
of Jewish Democrat
Josh Shapiro knew what
their result would
be on Nov. 8.

For a few minutes, it felt like the race might get close.

Shapiro’s supporters stood around, checked their
phones and watched the screens. Th e event staff and
campaign kept turning the party playlist on, off and
then back on to try to keep the party going.

But in the minds of many, there was never really
a doubt.

“From the projections now, it looks like he’s defi -
nitely going to win,” said Irfan Huda, 42, of Chalfont.

Mastriano never got closer than 11%. As the clock
struck 10 and the vote count crept into the 60% range,
tweets started going out from pollsters and media
outlets about how Shapiro had won. President Biden’s
White House Chief of Staff Ronald Klain, a prolifi c
liker of tweets that make the president look good,
liked a tweet from a political poll account that called
the race for Shapiro. (Biden and former President
Barack Obama headlined a rally with the Democratic
candidate at Temple University’s Liacouras Center on
Nov. 5.)
jsaff ren@midatlanticmedia.com
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