Her choice of the Virginia senator means that, should she be elected in the November 8th election, his replacement will be picked by Democratic state governor Terry McAuliffe, a long-time Clinton associate.
Advertisement
Clinton introduced her running mate Friday, seeking to snatch attention from newly crowned Republican nominee Donald Trump a day after he closed out his convention with a fiery and foreboding turn at the podium. Tim Kaine as the party’s vice presidential candidate this fall.
Clinton, after a methodical search, made the public announcement in the battleground state of Florida. Clinton and Kaine shared the stage July 14 at an event in Northern Virginia.
Appearing on The Rachel Maddow Show, avid Hillary Clinton supporter, Minnesota Sen.
Mrs Clinton also reportedly interviewed liberal firebrand Senator Elizabeth Warren of MA and Senator Cory Booker, an African-American senator from New Jersey.
“Senator Kaine served as the chair of the DNC during President Obama’s first year in office, and Senator Kaine is somebody that the president deeply respects”.
Liberal groups, which had pressured Clinton not to pick Kaine because of his support for fast-track authority for the White House to negotiate the Trans-Pacific Partnership, were dismayed by the choice. She is the daughter of former Virginia Gov. A. Linwood Holton Jr. and serves as Virginia’s secretary of education.
The announcement comes ahead of the Democratic National Convention, which begins in Philadelphia on Monday.
She said she couldn’t find anyone, be it a Democrat or a Republican, who could say anything negative about him.
The 58-year-old is a former housing lawyer who took off time from law school to work with Jesuit missionaries in Honduras, during which he became fluent in Spanish. Cory Booker of New Jersey also is getting a close look from the Clinton camp. As it stands, 66 percent of Hispanic voters back Clinton to Trump’s 24 percent, according to the Pew Research Center.
Known as a pragmatic governor and senator, Kaine could help Clinton appeal to independent voters and moderate Republicans displeased with Trump.
As head of the DNC, Kaine was caught in the same storm as the Obama administration for refusing to be pinned down on same-sex marriage.
During their convention, Republicans were relentless and often raw in demonizing Clinton.
“I’m glad the waiting game is almost over”, Kaine told reporters Thursday after an event in northern Virginia, deflecting questions about whether he was about to join the ticket.
Given that a poll from NBC/Marist found that Trump trails behind Clinton in approval from Hispanics in swing states, this could be an ace in the hole for the Democratic nominee.
Clinton said gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people are more likely to be victims of a hate crime than other people.
Advertisement
“When I hear Donald Trump say the American military is a disaster, I want to go through the screen and shake the guy”, Kaine said in the interview. He noted violent crime has recently risen in some cities, “but we’re not going to make good decisions based on fears that don’t have a basis in fact”. Judy Schwank agreed.”I think he’s an excellent selection, a very thoughtful choice”, said Schwank, a Ruscombmanor Township Democrat.
