Tim Kaine is Hillary Clinton’s choice for her vice president, giving her a running mate with experience at all levels of government to round out the Democratic ticket.
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Kaine speaks fluent Spanish and isn’t afraid to show off his skills.
Virginia is considered a swing state and it is crucial for the Clinton campaign that she prevails there.
In Kaine, Clinton selected a steady and well-practiced politician.
The presumptive Democratic nominee, in a text message to supporters said, “I’m thrilled to tell you this first: I’ve chosen Sen”.
“Project Exile broke black families”, she said.
Kaine, 58, edged out two other finalists – Cory Booker, a United States senator from New Jersey, and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, according to a Democratic source familiar with the discussions.
Clinton also bypassed candidates who would have generated more excitement among liberal and Hispanic activists, including progressive favourite US Senator Elizabeth Warren and two Hispanic members of Obama’s Cabinet, Julian Castro and Thomas Perez.
The former secretary of state will be formally nominated as the party’s presidential candidate for the November 8 election at next week’s Democratic convention in Philadelphia.
Mrs Clinton says her running mate has a relentless optimism, a much-needed attribute in an election season often described as dark because of the rhetoric of Donald Trump. He was chairman of the DNC during the disastrous 2010 midterm elections for Democrats that saw them lose the House.
Clinton’s decision to choose Kaine began when Chairman of the 2016 Hillary Clinton presidential campaign, John Podesta brought the candidate to her home in Chappaqua, New York, in April, according to a campaign official.
The Trump campaign called Kaine “an ethically challenged insider” and called Clinton and Kaine a “Status Quo” ticket.
“To select somebody like (Kaine) is not a sign of good leadership potential in a president”, Sinyangwe said.
Clinton also wants a vice president who acts as a sounding board for her, as Biden did for Obama and Al Gore for her husband, and can handle any task, domestic or foreign.
Clinton and Kaine are expected to campaign together in Florida on Saturday.
The 58-year-old senator swiftly tweeted his response, saying: “Just got off the phone with Hillary”.
“I am afflicted with the responsibility gene, and I know what it’s like being president”, she told Charlie Rose of CBS News and PBS earlier in the week. “Can’t wait to hit the trail tomorrow in Miami”, Kaine said on Twitter.
Jeff Merkley – who supports Clinton but is the only member the U.S. Senate to endorse their colleague Sanders – said Kaine is an “excellent choice”, but party progressives have concerns about some of his leanings, namely his recent vote in favor of fast-tracking the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal.
As Clinton finalized her decision, Trump met with supporters in Cleveland to run through a long list of thank-yous after his four-day convention. She is the daughter of former Virginia Gov. A. Linwood Holton Jr. and serves as Virginia’s secretary of education.
Clinton, with her reputation for partisanship and unpopularity with Republicans, was eager for a governing partner who would help reach out to the other party. Kaine’s backing of Project Exile also makes him odd bedfellows with Trump, who has made law and order a central theme of his candidacy.
Mrs. Clinton had entertained more daring choices.
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“I do what I do for spiritual reasons”, Kaine, who declined an interview with The Associated Press, said on C-SPAN last month. “Drawing a blank. Congrats to a good man and a good friend”.
