Hillary Clinton named Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine as her vice presidential running mate Friday, adding a centrist former governor of a crucial battleground state to the Democratic ticket.
With the pick, the presumptive Democratic nominee moved into the political spotlight a day after newly crowned Republican nominee Donald Trump closed out his convention with a fiery address accusing his general election opponent of “terrible, terrible crimes.”
Kaine, 58, had long been a favorite for Clinton’s ticket. Fluent in Spanish and active in the Senate on foreign relations and military affairs, he built a reputation for working across the aisle as Virginia’s governor and as mayor of Richmond.
In New Hampshire, Democrats applauded the choice. State Rep. Steve Shurtleff said Clinton couldn’t have found anyone more prepared to assume the White House in her absence than Kaine, who is one of a small class in American history who served as a mayor, governor and U.S. senator.
“He’s a lot in the mold of Joe Biden, who was an outstanding vice president who worked so well with President Obama,” said Shurtleff, the House minority leader, adding that he could see the same kind of partnership forming between Clinton and Kaine.
Some supporters who helped Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders win the New Hampshire primary will be disappointed that Clinton didn’t choose a more progressive running mate – such as Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren – but Kaine “is progressive on issues that are important to most Americans,” Shurtleff said. His moderate positioning will also set a contrast against the Republican ticket, he said.
Jeanne Shaheen, a U.S. senate colleague of Kaine’s from New Hampshire, wrote on Twitter that he’d be an “exceptional” vice president with “intergrity, experience and vision.”
In a text message to supporters Friday evening, Clinton said, “I’m thrilled to tell you this first: I’ve chosen Sen. Tim Kaine as my running mate.”
On Twitter a few seconds later, Clinton described Kaine as “a man who’s devoted his life to fighting for others.”
In a recent interview with CBS News, Clinton noted that Kaine has never lost an election during his lengthy political career and praised him as a “world-class mayor, governor and senator.” A favorite of Obama since his early 2008 endorsement, the president told Clinton’s campaign he believed Kaine would be a strong choice during the selection process, according to a Democrat familiar with the search who was not authorized to discuss it publicly.
Those views are not shared by some liberals in the Democratic Party, who dislike his support of free trade and Wall Street. They pushed Clinton to pick Warren or Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, intensifying their criticism of Kaine late this week as his selection appeared imminent.
Clinton’s campaign largely declined to comment on the search process, trying to keep the details – even the names of the finalists – under wraps to try to maximize the impact of their announcement. She made no mention of her impending pick during a somber meeting Friday with community leaders and family members affected by the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando and a later campaign rally in Tampa.
She is expected to campaign with Kaine today at an event in Miami.
Trump, in a text to his own supporters, said Obama, Hillary and Kaine were “the ultimate insiders” and implored voters to not “let Obama have a 3rd term.”
As Clinton prepared to make her VP pick Friday, Trump met with supporters at his convention hotel in Cleveland to run through a long list of thank-yous after the end of his four-day coronation as head of the Republican Party.
But rather than stay focused on Clinton or reach out to the general election voters he now must court, the newly minted Republican nominee spent considerable time stoking the fire of his bitter quarrel with former Republican rival Ted Cruz.
Trump boasted of his TV ratings, his primary victories and other achievements, incl
“I don’t do anything unless I win,” Trump insisted. He promised to work “so hard” as the nominee and vowed his campaign was “not going to disappear,” even though he has no plans to campaign this weekend and no events on his schedule for next week.
No matter, perhaps, as that time will belong to Clinton and the Democrats, whose own convention begins Monday in Philadelphia. Kaine, who won election to the Senate in 2012 after serving as Obama’s first chairman of the Democratic National Committee, is expected to speak in the slot reserved for the vice presidential pick on Wednesday night.
Before entering politics, Kaine was an attorney who specialized in civil rights and fair housing. He learned Spanish during a mission trip to Honduras while in law school, an experience he still references on the campaign trail. During his political career, he’s demonstrated an ability to woo voters across party lines, winning his 2006 gubernatorial race with support in both Democratic strongholds and traditionally Republican strongholds.
His wife, Anne Holton, is the daughter of a former Virginia governor, a former state judge and, currently, the state’s Education Secretary. The couple has three children.
Clinton selected him to join the ticket from a group of candidates that included Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Labor Secretary Tom Perez and Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper.
(Nick Reid contributed to this report.)