Clinton and Sen. Tim Kaine at rally in Annandale, Va., on July 14.
Andrew Harnik / AP
TAMPA, Fla. — Hillary Clinton has made Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine her running-mate, lending the Democratic ticket a seasoned, steady vice presidential nominee with extensive domestic and national security credentials, and a link to a key state.
Eight years after Barack Obama nearly picked the 58-year-old father of three as his own running-mate, Kaine is expected to join Clinton on Saturday at a campaign rally in Miami, making his first appearance as the potential next vice president.
Clinton announced the decision in a text message to supporters late on Friday afternoon, nearly 24 hours after Donald Trump officially accepted his party’s nomination.
The first-term U.S. senator has been cast by some as Clinton's "safest" choice, event a "boring" one. Kaine, though, perhaps more than any other contender for the no. 2 spot, also reflects a balance of the qualities Clinton has said she wants in a partner: He is an authority on foreign and military affairs in the Senate, where he serves on the Armed Services Committee; he offers the experience of a governor and mayor; he is a versatile, solid campaigner, popular in his crucial home state of Virginia; and he comes to the ticket as a well-liked party servant, with the potential if not to excite, then inspire trust.
Kaine, however, is not without his detractors.
Amid intense speculation this week that he had edged to the top of Clinton’s list, progressives formerly aligned with Clinton’s primary opponent, Bernie Sanders, criticized Kaine’s support for the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal and highlighted two recent letters he wrote in support of easing some rules on smaller banks.
One of Sanders' strongest allies in the primary, Democracy For America, said on Thursday that the letters should "disqualify" Kane as a finalist for the job.
Clinton, who hopes to turn the Senate back to Democrats this fall, is also said to be concerned about what could happen to Kaine's seat should he vacate it. Virginia Gov. Terry McAullife, a longtime Clinton ally, has the power to appoint a Democratic successor, but the seat would open up again for a special election in 2017.
Still, Clinton’s priority, campaign aides have said, was a candidate whose domestic and international resumé made them prepared without question for the presidency — particularly as she attacks Trump as inherently unqualified and unfit for the job.
In 2008, Obama opted for Joe Biden over Kaine, who at the time was still governor of Virginia, boasting little foreign policy experience. Eight years later, Kaine has become a forceful voice on defense and international affairs in Washington, emerging at times as a critical voice against the president’s approach against the terrorist network ISIS.
Barack Obama, joined by Bill Clinton and Tim Kaine, at a rally in 2012.
J. Scott Applewhite / AP
Friday's announcement ended a three-month, tightly guarded search, led by Clinton and a small group of advisers, including longtime allies John Podesta and Cheryl Mills.
Against the backdrop of this week’s hectic Republican convention, Clinton’s campaign officials said they were aiming for a clean and contained roll-out. Trump’s deliberations by contrast, unfolded almost entirely in public. His choice, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, leaked in the press early. And up until his announcement — even after his campaign made it official — there were reports that Trump might still waver on the decision.
In the days leading up to Clinton's final selection, Kaine remained largely quiet about his prospects. ”I’m glad the waiting game is nearly over," Kaine told the collection of reporters trailing him on Thursday. "But I don’t have any idea of what will happen.”
Clinton began her search by casting a wide net, compiling a long list of politicians, military figures, and business people, with an open mind to the idea of an all-female or even a bipartisan ticket, according to a person familiar with the process.
By the end of June, a handful of key names remained in the mix: agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack, labor secretary Tom Perez, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, housing secretary Julián Castro, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, and four-star navy admiral and NATO commander James Stravidis.
In the final days, the search narrowed to Kaine, Vilsack, and Booker.
Other VP contenders might have provided the Democratic base, and progressives, a more appealing or exciting ticket. The 47-year old Booker, for instance, was seen as a leader from a new generation with the potential to inspire enthusiasm. He would have been the first African American presumptive vice presidential nominee in U.S. history.
Clinton has also said she is heightened to the complications that come along with a vice president who might one day want to pursue the Oval Office. The former first lady privately cites the internal challenges associated with Al Gore’s presidential ambitions. Kaine is seen as someone more likely to fully embrace the job of vice president.
Bill Clinton, according to the New York Times, also favored Kaine. The couple doesn’t have a long relationship with him, compared to finalists like Tom Vilsack, the agriculture secretary and Iowa Democrat who has been close to the couple for decades.
Kaine comes from a working-class Catholic family in Kansas City. His father was a welder. Kaine and his wife, Anne Holton, met at Harvard Law School before moving to Richmond, where he began on the city council, rising to mayor of the majority-black city. It is not uncommon to spot Kaine around town at a minor league baseball game, in Trader Joe’s, or at the predominantly black Catolic church he’s been going to for years.
Kaine, as former aides describe him, can just as easily connect with voters in rural southwest Virginia (he plays harmonica at the Bristol Rhythm and Roots Festival), as on a tour of Hispanic businesses in Northern Virginia (he speaks fluent Spanish), or a trip through the military bases at Hampton Roads (his oldest son, Nat, is a Marine).
So the “boring” trope, said Beau Cribbs, Kaine’s body man from 2008 to 2010, irritates those who know him well, including a network of fiercely loyal former staffers.
“I just hate it,” Cribbs said. “I think boring is a code for white and male, frankly.”
His style as a campaigner is not unlike that of his new boss. Kaine, like Clinton, is not known best for the rousing speeches so often associated with Obama. He excels in small groups, or one-on-one — a hard worker known for 14- or 15-hour days on the trail.
During his Senate race in 2012, Kaine held more than 100 roundtables.
The small-scale discussion-driven style of event has also become a campaign staple for Clinton. Perhaps it was no surprise this week then, when CBS News’s Charlie Rose asked about Kaine’s joke that he is in fact “too boring,” that Clinton replied with enthusiasm.
“I love that about him!”
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