With Vice President Kamala Harris ascending to the role of presumptive Democratic nominee following the end of President Joe Biden's re-election bid last week, the search is on for who will be Harris' running mate and vice presidential candidate.

One name that has consistently garnered mention is Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, and an endorsement event for Harris in the state on Friday turned into a mini-rally to boost the governor as her potential VP pick, Politico reported.

However, it was separately revealed earlier in the week that not all Pennsylvania Democrats are on board with the idea of Shapiro being picked to be the party's vice presidential nominee and running mate for Harris.

Harris endorsement event turns into pro-Shapiro rally

According to Politico, VP Harris was in Philadelphia on Friday to receive endorsements as the presumptive Democratic nominee from numerous officials including the mayor, the local party chair, and the leaders of two influential labor unions, among others.

While all of those officials did indeed express their support for Harris, each of them in turn also promoted Gov. Shapiro, who was also in attendance at the event, as her best choice to be the next VP, at times with such force and exuberance that Shapiro became visibly uncomfortable and embarrassed.

Later, when asked by reporters about what had occurred on his behalf at the event that was ostensibly about Harris, the governor replied, "I’m not going to add any political pressure to the vice president."

"She will make this deeply personal decision as to who she wants to run with and govern with and move America forward with," he added. "And as for these labor folks who have been by my side for years and years and years, we’ve worked together to make progress."

Accusation of sexism and covering up sexual harassment scandal

Not all Democrats in Pennsylvania are thrilled about the prospects of Gov. Shapiro being picked as VP Harris' running mate, however, as the New York Post reported that Democratic Treasurer nominee Erin McClelland seemed to accuse the governor of being sexist and covering up a sexual harassment scandal in a controversial social media post earlier in the week.

"I want a VP pick that’s secure enough to be second under a woman, is content to be VP & won’t undermine the President to maneuver his own election & doesn’t sweep sexual harassment under the rug. I want someone that can speak to rural voters. That is @RoyCooperNC," McClelland posted with a direct link to North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, who has also been mentioned as a possible Harris VP candidate.

What she was likely referring to in the thinly veiled critique of Shapiro, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer, was a scandal that erupted in the governor's office last year when his chief legislative liaison, Mike Vereb, was accused of sexual harassment. Vereb did not resign until several months after the allegations were made public and the accuser was ultimately silenced later by the governor's office with a quiet settlement of $295,000 in taxpayer funds.

According to the Pennsylvania Capital-Star, McClelland's post sparked anger from Pennsylvania Democratic Party Chairman Sharif Street, who told reporters on Wednesday, "Look, everybody’s entitled to their opinion," but expressed his own support for Harris and Shapiro and added of McClelland, "But, I’ll tell you, I’m offended by that -- by the post. I’m personally offended and I’ll have conversations with our nominee for Treasurer, separately."

McClelland doubles down on support for Cooper as Harris running mate

In an interview with the New York Post, McClelland said of her post about Gov. Shapiro, "If I were in [Harris’] situation, I would think very strongly about the difficulties that some women experience being in a top-level position, and having men around them that have to be satisfied with being second, third or answering to a woman."

She noted that she'd support the Democratic ticket regardless of who was on it but nonetheless promoted Gov. Cooper as her preferred choice to be VP Harris' running mate, and said that he "seems very comfortable in his own skin and does not seem to have very strong ambitions to be president," and added that Cooper wouldn't "undercut" Harris, had a praise-worthy record, could attract younger voters better than Shapiro, and is "good on public education, which is an issue that’s important to me."

As for the "offended" reaction of state party Chairman Street, McClelland suggested that they would eventually be "fine" but also quipped, "Someone is offended by a woman with a strong opinion. Color me thunderstruck."