(WHTM) – Democrats have long circled Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro as a future candidate for President. Add former Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor and former Acting Governor Mark Singel to that list of insiders who sees Shapiro someday throwing his hat in the national ring.

“Josh Shapiro is the real deal,” said Singel on This Week in Pennsylvania. “He was a member of the (State) House of Representatives, he’s been running for President since he was 12 years old, and he’s good at it, right? He doesn’t really miss a trick, and he presents himself well and he handles the press so beautifully…”

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This Week in Pennsylvania

Singel noted he would like to see Shapiro work more in a bipartisan fashion with the legislature to pass more of his priorities.

“And if he does that, he’s going to be a star,” remarked Singel.

A member of President Joe Biden’s national campaign advisory board, Shapiro has been seen as potentially positioning himself for a 2028 presidential primary run.

A December 2023 survey by Muhlenberg College’s Institute of Public Opinion showed Shapiro handedly defeated Donald Trump in a hypothetical presidential matchup 48% to Trump’s 37%.

After a landslide victory in the 2022 race for Governor, Shapiro was asked whether he had any ambition to be the nation’s first Jewish president, to which he had “ambition to get a little bit of sleep” and to serve the people of Pennsylvania.

Muhlenberg’s Spring 2024 survey found Shapiro with a 64% approval rating in his first term as Governor.

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