In an email to her supporter, Clinton said Kaine is a lifelong fighter for progressive causes and one of the most qualified vice presidential candidates in the nation’s history.”He is a genuinely nice person, but Tim is no one’s punching bag”.
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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.
USA Today describes Kaine as a “safe pick – a moderate who appeals to independent voters and may be able to bring in more white male support”.
Although Obama instead picked Joe Biden as his No. 2, Kaine helped Obama turn Virginia from red to blue, the first time the state had chosen a Democrat for president since it voted for Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964.
Shortly after Clinton made the announcement on Twitter, Rep.
Mr Kaine responded: “Just got off the phone with Hillary. Can’t wait to hit the trail tomorrow in Miami!”
Kaine, 58, edged out two other finalists – Cory Booker, a USA senator from New Jersey, and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, according to a Democratic source familiar with the discussions.
“It’s only fitting that Hillary Clinton would select an ethically challenged insider like Tim Kaine who’s personally benefited from the rigged system”, spokesman Jason Miller said. “It’s now more important than ever that Hillary Clinton run an aggressive campaign on core economic ideas like expanding Social Security, debt-free college, Wall Street reform, and yes, stopping the TPP”. He was chairman of the DNC during the disastrous 2010 midterm elections for Democrats that saw them lose the House. His approval rating in polls has generally been significantly higher than his disapproval rating, and he was elected senator in 2012 by a six-point margin over Republican George Allen – a fellow former governor and former senator who was trying to reclaim his seat.
Kaine is expected to join Clinton at a rally in Florida on Saturday.
Clinton praised the deal when she was secretary of state, but now opposes it.
“I enthusiastically applaud Secretary Clinton’s choice”. And Kaine’s election to the Senate was only possible because the incumbent, Democrat Jim Webb, unexpectedly chose to leave after one term.
“The Clinton-Kaine ticket is everything the Trump-Pence ticket is not: competent, steady and committed to giving all Americans a fair shot to succeed”, Reid said in a statement.
But rather that stay focused on Clinton or reach out to the general election voters he now must court, Trump spent considerable time stoking the fire of his bitter quarrel with Republican former rival Ted Cruz. And through that time, we’ve obviously worked together politically but have also developed a good, strong personal friendship as well. Democrats hoped the announcement would blunt any momentum Trump gained from his convention.
“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.
He is one of just 20 people to have served as a mayor, governor and US senator. He serves on the Armed Services, Budget, Foreign Relations and Aging Committees.
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Kaine is also fluent in Spanish, a skill that Clinton can deploy to further mobilize a Latino community that already gives Donald Trump historically low marks as a candidate.
