Two days before the Democratic National Convention, Hillary Clinton appeared side by side with her running mate, Virginia Senator Tim Kaine.
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While it was the first time many across the country heard or saw the senator, he’s no stranger to Sen.
“Would I have preferred to see someone like an Elizabeth Warren selected by Secretary Clinton?”
Kaine, a junior senator from Virginia, was first elected to public office in 1994, initially as a Richmond city councilman.
On Friday, Clinton called Kaine around 7.30 p.m., and then spoke with President Barack Obama informing him of her decision, the official added.
Referring to Kaine as “more conservative than Hillary Clinton”, Sanders supporter Cameron Sato of Honolulu told NPR that “by picking someone who’s that progressive. they’re not necessarily pushing the agenda in the way we want to see it”.
“When Donald Trump says he has your back, you better watch out”, Kaine said, with Clinton sitting at his side nodding.
Trump alleged that Kaine that took hundreds of thousands of dollars in gifts while Governor of Virginia.
At ease in the national limelight, Kaine showcased his fluency in Spanish, introduced himself and praising Clinton while attacking the Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
Judith Sweeney, 58, from West Park, Florida, said she knew little about Kaine before attending the speech but was impressed by his resume and liked his civil rights work and school reform efforts. “Wonderful, very experienced, an innovator”, she said.
“The combination of his tone, his demeanour, his life story -it just said a lot about her capacity to choose the right person and not listen to pressure from the outside”, he said.
The Clinton aide said she ultimately concluded that Kaine met her top consideration – the ability to step in as president if necessary – and she had reached a comfort level with the low-key lawmaker that made her believe he could be a “true partner in governing”. A Clinton campaign aide said Kaine made clear “in the course of discussions” that he shares Clinton’s opposition to the TPP in its current form. Sanders said on CNN’s “State of the Union” when asked about Kaine.
Meanwhile, his fluent Spanish skill is also regarded a big help for Clinton to woo some 55 million Hispanics, a body making up approximately 17 percent of the US population.
In picking Kaine, Clinton passed over liberal candidates who would have generated more grassroots enthusiasm like U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren of MA and Cory Booker of New Jersey, and Hispanic Cabinet members Julian Castro and Thomas Perez.
Clinton’s team maintained a tight control over the information. Sanders had complained about the superdelegates, which overwhelmingly backed Clinton.
Jocelyn Bucaro, an OH superdelegate and Clinton supporter, praised Kaine as someone who will appeal to a broad range of voters in swing states, even Republicans uncomfortable with Trump. But many others also said they wanted to get direction from Sanders, who was scheduled to meet privately with his delegates Monday.
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But enough committee members backed the effort to let them take the fight to the convention floor during next week’s convention, participants said.
