Hillary Clinton moved closer to introducing her running mate Friday, seeking to snatch attention from newly crowned Republican nominee Donald Trump just hours after he closed out his convention with a fiery and foreboding turn at the podium.
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Kaine, the former Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, served as Governor of Virginia from 2006 to 2010 before being elected to the United States Senate in 2012. Tim Kaine is the leading contender, according to a pair of Democrats familiar with Clinton’s search.
Clinton plans to introduce Kaine, a fluent speaker of Spanish, at a rally Saturday at Miami’s Florida International University, according to CNN. Elizabeth Warren of MA and Labor Secretary Tom Perez.
Late last week, Trump announced his own vice presidential pick, tapping Indiana Gov. Mike Pence for the job.
Virginia’s Democratic governor, Terry McAuliffe, a close Clinton friend and ally, will name a replacement for Kaine if he and Clinton win the White House.
And speaking of Virginia: It’s an important swing state, which Clinton won in the Democratic primary.
“Tim is a lifelong fighter for progressive causes and one of the most qualified vice presidential candidates in our nation’s history”, she gushed.
His wife, Anne Holton, is the daughter of a former Virginia governor, a former state judge and, currently, the state’s Education Secretary. “But look, she has lots of good choices, and I’m excited to see who she’ll pick”. Ms Clinton will hope that he helps deliver Virginia, which has often been a battleground in elections. Those who sign up for text messages from the campaign are supposed to find out first. Kaine is a former mayor, governor, DNC chair, and current Senator.
Aside from killing whatever momentum Donald Trump had cultivated from Thursday’s evil acceptance speech, the selection of Kaine demonstrates a significant amount of restraint and level-headedness on the part of the Clinton campaign. But, as other observers have noted, the Minnesota native, who was raised in Kansas City, Mo., could help Clinton appeal to one of her weakest demographic areas – white, working-class men in the Rust Belt, a group where Trump has an advantage.
He is a vice president pick with a clean reputation which is needed at a time when both candidates have unfavorability ratings over 50 percent.
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JUDY WOODRUFF: Well, what would be – say, if it were – and, again, we’re speculating now – we don’t know – but if it were a Tim Kaine, what would the pluses be for her and what would the liabilities be? Clinton is looking for a running-mate with strong defense and foreign policy experience. Kaine could perhaps nudge it even further into Clinton’s corner.
