Commonwealth of Pennsylvania / Office of the Governor
Josh Shapiro is the Democratic governor of Pennsylvania. A lawyer, he previously held office as Pennsylvania attorney general, Montgomery County commissioner and a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.
DI has documented statements by Josh Shapiro on 2026 Midterm Elections, Artificial Intelligence, and Federalism, among other topics. Read the quotations, original sources and related cases below.
Role at the time: Governor of Pennsylvania, posting on his official Bluesky account
Condemned
Statement summary
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro says President Trump tried to keep Pennsylvania voters from being heard in the 2026 election by attempting to limit mail-in voting.
“Donald Trump tried to prevent Pennsylvania voters from making their voices heard in this election by attempting to limit mail-in voting.”
Shapiro describes the administration's mail-voting restrictions as an attempt to stop Pennsylvanians from voting, which is a direct objection to applying them in this election.
Role at the time: Governor of Pennsylvania, posting on his official X account
Condemned
Statement summary
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro said he had told an audience of CEOs, researchers and AI experts in Pittsburgh that action is needed now to rein in artificial intelligence and regulate it federally. He compared AI to pharmaceuticals and aviation, which must satisfy the FDA and FAA before reaching the public, said the technology's future should be shaped by the public rather than by CEOs focused on their bottom line, and called for strict guardrails on its development and deployment.
“Today, I stood before CEOs, researchers, and AI experts in Pittsburgh with a simple message: We need to take action NOW to rein in AI technology and regulate it at the federal level. Think about it: We don't let pharmaceutical companies develop drugs and put them right out on the market, they must go through the FDA to prove they're safe and effective first. And the FAA sets strict standards that every airplane must meet before passengers can fly on it. AI shouldn't be treated any differently.”
Read the original post (opens in a new tab)Josh Shapiro: "We need to take action NOW to rein in AI technology and regulate it at the federal level" · Josh ShapiroPost text, 6:02 PM Eastern, September 17, 2026.
Why we used this label
Shapiro rejects leaving powerful AI's future to CEOs and says Washington must establish strict development and deployment safeguards.
Role at the time: Governor of Pennsylvania, answering reporters during a Chester stop
Explicitly stayed out
Statement summary
Asked about Fetterman’s convention video, Shapiro redirected the question to his work as governor.
“I'm not going to get distracted by anyone in that effort.”
Open source (opens in a new tab)CBS Pittsburgh records Josh Shapiro’s response to Fetterman’s convention videoJosh Shapiro’s answer during the September 10 Delaware County stop
Why we used this label
The source records a response to a specific question about the convention video, followed by an express refusal to be distracted and a return to governing and reelection. This is a documented topic closure rather than inferred silence or substantive support or criticism.
Role at the time: Pennsylvania governor and 2026 candidate
Condemned
Statement summary
Josh Shapiro said he would welcome legislation banning Flock cameras throughout Pennsylvania.
“I would welcome bipartisan legislation to ban these across the state.”
Open source (opens in a new tab)Battleground congressional candidates in Pennsylvania talk Flock camerasOriginal candidate interviews and quoted campaign statements; syndicated text
Why we used this label
The reference point is whether networked license-plate reader systems such as Flock should exist and be used. Shapiro said he would welcome bipartisan legislation to ban the cameras across Pennsylvania. Backing a statewide ban is a call to end the network, so Condemned fits.
At the September 9, 2026 Republican convention, Democratic Senator John Fetterman introduced Republican Senator Dave McCormick and promised cooperation with President Trump on Pennsylvania steel. Supporters welcomed bipartisanship; critics called it campaign-stage help for an administration Fetterman’s voters expected him to oppose.
Networked automated license-plate cameras can assemble searchable records of vehicle movements. Candidates and officials disagree over whether to ban the systems, keep them with limits, or defend them as investigative tools. This tracker separates outright bans from narrower restrictions.
Trump backs company controls and outside audits for frontier AI. Critics want enforceable federal safeguards, and the White House now calls incident reporting mandatory without identifying enforcement mechanisms or penalties.
Trump's administration defends new USPS ballot-mail requirements as anti-fraud controls. Read the rule, challenges to its authority and the Supreme Court's September 14 decision leaving a temporary block in place.
