HARRISBURG, Pa. — Josh Shapiro becomes Pennsylvania's 48th governor at noon on Tuesday. It happens just after Lt. Gov. Austin Davis is sworn in before the senate.
WNEP will stream the inauguration live right here on WNEP.com and WNEP+ on Roku and FireTV beginning at 11 a.m.
He is no stranger to government; Shapiro was a state representative and Montgomery County commissioner before winning the 2016 election to be Pennsylvania attorney general.
Shapiro was sworn in as attorney general six years ago. He was only the second Democrat elected attorney general in Pennsylvania history. Kathleen Kane from Lackawanna County was the first.
After Shapiro took over, he said part of his job was to restore trust in the office. Kane went to jail for leaking grand jury information and then lying about it.
Shapiro set off on an ambitious agenda. Part of that was a grand jury investigation into priests in the Roman Catholic Church sexually abusing children. Shapiro alleged the cover-up went all the way to the Vatican.
He also investigated employees of the Lackawanna County Jail in Scranton abusing inmates. Seven were charged, and only three were convicted, according to the Associated Press.
Shapiro approved charges against what was then Cabot Oil and Gas in Susquehanna County. The allegation involved crimes against the environment. Cabot's successor eventually settled the case.
The attorney general also approved charges filed against Scranton School District employees. He said there was evidence they knew about lead in schools' drinking water and did nothing about it. Many of the charges were later dropped.
Shapiro was elected to a second term as attorney general two years ago.
Looking back, Shapiro's path to the governor's office was relatively easy.
Shapiro announced he was going after the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in October of 2021. He made the announcement in Pittsburgh. Many opponents considered jumping into the race, but when the primary rolled around in May of last year, Shapiro had the ballot to himself with no opposition.
The general election was a much different story.
State Senator Doug Mastriano from south-central Pennsylvania survived a bruising primary election to win the Republican nomination.
It was then on to the general election.
Shapiro raised big money, and he spent big, more than $50 million. It set records as the costliest run for Pennsylvania governor in history.
Shapiro's ads painted Mastriano as an extremist who would take Pennsylvania backward.
The majority of voters agreed.
Shapiro captured more votes than any candidate for governor in state history, and he bested Mastriano by around 14 points.
The Democrats keep control of the governor's office for at least 12 years — the last eight under Tom Wolf and the next four under Josh Shapiro.
The state constitution kept Tom Wolf from running for another term.