Democratic Governor Supports Dismantling Electoral College Despite Swing State Status

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro has made clear his willingness to dismantle the Electoral College, a constitutional mechanism that has governed presidential elections since the founding of the republic. His comments at the Crooked Con event in Washington demonstrate the Democratic Party’s continued assault on constitutional frameworks they find inconvenient to their electoral ambitions.

The facts are straightforward. Shapiro, when pressed by Pod Save America host Jon Favreau, reaffirmed his 2020 position that the Electoral College should be abolished. He expressed support for joining the National Popular Vote Compact, a scheme designed to effectively nullify the Electoral College without going through the proper constitutional amendment process. This compact would award participating states’ electoral votes to the national popular vote winner once enough states sign on, circumventing the framers’ carefully constructed federal system.

The logic here is dubious at best. Shapiro governs Pennsylvania, which he himself acknowledged is "the ultimate swing state" and "the biggest swing state." Yet he advocates for a system that would diminish Pennsylvania’s outsized influence in presidential elections. Under a national popular vote system, candidates would focus their attention on high-population urban centers in California, New York, and Texas while ignoring the concerns of Pennsylvanians entirely. The irony appears lost on Shapiro.

His claim that "the will of the people is heard and respected" through a popular vote fundamentally misunderstands the American constitutional system. The United States is not a pure democracy but a constitutional republic composed of sovereign states. The Electoral College ensures that presidential candidates must build coalitions across diverse geographic regions rather than simply running up vote totals in population centers that share their ideology.

Shapiro’s positioning is particularly noteworthy given his potential 2028 presidential ambitions. As a governor of a large state with supposedly more centrist views, he might have been expected to defend federalism and constitutional norms. Instead, he embraces proposals championed primarily by the socialist wing of his party.

The socialist influence within the Democratic Party has indeed grown substantially, particularly since New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s election in November 2025. Democratic Socialists of America co-chair Megan Romer has outlined an agenda that extends far beyond Electoral College abolishment. Her party seeks to abolish the Senate itself, eliminate Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and erase America’s borders entirely. These are not fringe proposals whispered in back rooms but publicly stated policy goals.

This radical agenda has created visible tensions within the Democratic coalition. Centrist Democrats now find themselves in an uncomfortable alliance with socialists who view fundamental American institutions as obstacles to be removed rather than frameworks to be preserved. The disagreements have intensified following the party’s midterm victories, as various factions jockey for influence over the party’s direction.

The Electoral College abolishment push is not new. Numerous Democratic presidential candidates in 2020, including Senator Cory Booker and Pete Buttigieg, supported the idea. What has changed is the political landscape following the 2026 midterm elections, which has emboldened Democrats to pursue previously unthinkable constitutional changes.

The question for voters is simple. Do they want to preserve the constitutional system that has governed this nation for over two centuries, or do they want to fundamentally transform America’s institutions because one party believes it would benefit their electoral prospects? Shapiro has made his position clear.

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