Timothy Michael Kaine (; born February 26, 1958) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior

United States senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...

from

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 38th lieutenant governor of Virginia from 2002 to 2006 and 70th

governor of Virginia The governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia serves as the head of government of Virginia for a four-year term. The incumbent, Glenn Youngkin, was sworn in on January 15, 2022. Oath of office On inauguration day, the Governor-elect takes th ...

from 2006 to 2010. Kaine was the Democratic nominee for

vice president of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The vice p ...

in the 2016 election as

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

's running mate. Born in

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center ...

, Kaine grew up in Overland Park, Kansas, graduated from the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus University of Missouri System. MU was founded in ...

in Columbia, Missouri, and earned a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice l ...

degree from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each c ...

before entering private practice and becoming a lecturer at the University of Richmond School of Law. He was first elected to public office in 1994, when he won a seat on the

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, Californi ...

City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural coun ...

. He was elected mayor of Richmond in 1998 and held that position until being elected lieutenant governor of Virginia in 2001. Kaine was elected

in 2005 and held that office from 2006 to 2010. He chaired the

Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the governing body of the United States Democratic Party. The committee coordinates strategy to support Democratic Party candidates throughout the country for local, state, and national office, as well ...

from 2009 to 2011. On July 22, 2016, Hillary Clinton introduced Kaine as her vice-presidential

running mate A running mate is a person running together with another person on a joint ticket during an election. The term is most often used in reference to the person in the subordinate position (such as the vice presidential candidate running with a p ...

. The 2016 Democratic National Convention nominated him on July 27. Despite winning a plurality of the national popular vote, the ClintonKaine ticket lost the Electoral College, and therefore the election, to the Republican ticket of

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

and

Mike Pence Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 50th ...

on November 8, 2016. Kaine was reelected to a second Senate term in

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

, defeating Republican

Corey Stewart Corey Alan Stewart (born August 1, 1968) is an American retired politician who served four terms as at-large chair of the Board of Supervisors of Prince William County, Virginia from December 2006 to December 2019. Stewart was the Republican ...

Early life and education

Kaine was born at Saint Joseph's Hospital in

St. Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center o ...

. He is the eldest of three sons born to Mary Kathleen (née Burns), a home economics teacher, and Albert Alexander Kaine, Jr., a welder and the owner of a small iron-working shop. reprinting of announcement originally published on November 25, 1984. He was raised Catholic. One of Kaine's great-grandparents was Scottish and the other seven were Irish. Kaine's family moved to Overland Park, Kansas, when Kaine was two years old, and he grew up in the Kansas City area. In 1976, he graduated from Rockhurst High School, a

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

all-boys preparatory school in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the List of United States cities by populat ...

. At Rockhurst, Kaine joined the debate team and was elected student body president. Kaine received his

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics anal ...

from the

in 1979, completing his degree in three years and graduating Omicron Delta Kappa and ''

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

''. He was a

Coro Foundation Coro is an American non-partisan, non-profit organization best known for its fellowship program dedicated to teaching skills useful in leadership in Public administration, public affairs to young adults. The organization was founded in San Fran ...

fellow in Kansas City in 1978. He entered Harvard Law School in 1979, interrupting his law studies after his first year to work in

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...

for nine months from 1980 to 1981, helping Jesuit missionaries who ran a

Catholic school Catholic schools are pre-primary, primary and secondary educational institutions administered under the aegis or in association with the Catholic Church. , the Catholic Church operates the world's largest religious, non-governmental school syste ...

in El Progreso. While running a vocational center that taught carpentry and welding, he also helped increase the school's enrollment by recruiting local villagers. Kaine is fluent in Spanish as a result of his time in Honduras. After returning from Honduras, Kaine met his future wife, first-year Harvard Law student Anne Holton. He graduated from Harvard Law School with a J.D. degree in 1983.Danielle Burton
10 Things You Didn't Know About Tim Kaine
''U.S. News & World Report'' (July 18, 2008). Kaine and Holton moved to Holton's hometown of Richmond, Virginia, after graduation, and Kaine was admitted to the Virginia bar in 1984.

Legal career and Richmond City Council

After graduating from law school, Kaine was a

law clerk A law clerk or a judicial clerk is a person, generally someone who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial clerks often play significant ...

for Judge

R. Lanier Anderson III Robert Lanier Anderson III (born November 12, 1936) is a Senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, in

Macon, Georgia Macon ( ), officially Macon–Bibb County, is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia. Situated near the fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is located southeast of Atlanta and lies near the geographic center of the state of G ...

. He then joined the Richmond law firm of Little, Parsley & Cluverius, P.C. In 1987, Kaine became a director of the law firm of Mezzullo & McCandlish, P.C. He practiced law in Richmond for 17 years, specializing in fair housing law and representing clients discriminated against on the basis of race or

disability Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, ...

.Virginia: Past Governors' Bios: Tim Kaine
National Governors Association (accessed July 21, 2016). He was a board member of the Virginia chapter of Housing Opportunities Made Equal, which he represented in a landmark

redlining In the United States, redlining is a discriminatory practice in which services ( financial and otherwise) are withheld from potential customers who reside in neighborhoods classified as "hazardous" to investment; these neighborhoods have sign ...

discrimination lawsuit against

Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company and affiliated companies, commonly shortened to Nationwide, is a group of large U.S. insurance and financial services companies based in Columbus, Ohio. The company also operates regional headquarters in Sco ...

arising from the company's practices in Richmond.Sheryl Gay Stolberg
Tim Kaine: A Self-Effacing Senator in a Sharp-Elbows Era
''The New York Times'' (July 22, 2016). Kaine won a $100.5 million verdict in the case; the judgment was overturned on appeal, and Kaine and his colleagues negotiated a $17.5 million

settlement Settlement may refer to: * Human settlement, a community where people live *Settlement (structural), the distortion or disruption of parts of a building *Closing (real estate), the final step in executing a real estate transaction *Settlement (fin ...

. Kaine did regular ''

pro bono ( en, 'for the public good'), usually shortened to , is a Latin phrase for professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment. In the United States, the term typically refers to provision of legal services by legal professionals for pe ...

'' work. In 1988, he started teaching legal ethics as an

adjunct professor An adjunct professor is a type of academic appointment in higher education who does not work at the establishment full-time. The terms of this appointment and the job security of the tenure vary in different parts of the world, however the genera ...

at the University of Richmond School of Law. Kaine taught at the University of Richmond for six years; his students included future

Virginia attorney general The attorney general of Virginia is an elected constitutional position that holds an executive office in the government of Virginia. Attorneys general are elected for a four-year term in the year following a presidential election. There are no ter ...

Mark Herring.Trevor Baratko
For a professor and his pupil, politics align
''

Loudoun Times-Mirror ''Loudoun Times-Mirror'' is a weekly newspaper based in Leesburg, Virginia, owned and operated by Peter Arundel. Kaine had a largely apolitical childhood, but became interested in politics in part due to the influence of his wife's family and his experience attending Richmond city council meetings. In 1994, he was elected the 2nd district member of the

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural coun ...

of the independent city of

, defeating incumbent city councilor Benjamin P.A. Warthen by less than 100 votes. He took his seat on July 1 and retained the position until September 10, 2001, when he resigned and William J. Pantele was appointed to succeed him.Amy Biegelsen
What's a Nice Guy Like Tim Kaine Doing in a Job Like This?
(Richmond, Va.) ''Style Weekly'' (February 25, 2009). He defeated the incumbent city councilman Benjamin P.A. Warthen by 97 votes. Kaine spent four terms on the city council, the latter two as mayor of Richmond.Paul Schwartzman

''The Washington Post'' (July 14, 2016).

Mayor of Richmond (1998–2001)

On July 1, 1998, Kaine was elected mayor of Richmond, succeeding Larry Chavis.Melissa Scott Sinclair
Is Kaine Able?
(Richmond, Va.) ''Style Weekly''. He was chosen by an 8 to 1 vote on the majority-black Richmond City Council, becoming the city's first white mayor in more than ten years, which was viewed as a surprise. Rudy McCollum, an African American city councilor also interested in the mayoralty, decided to back Kaine after a private meeting between the two, clearing the way for Kaine to win the election. Previous mayors had treated the role as primarily ceremonial, with the

city manager A city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city, in a "Mayor–council government" council–manager form of city government. Local officials serving in this position are sometimes referred to as the chief exec ...

effectively operating the city; Kaine treated it as a full-time job, taking a more hands-on role. As mayor, Kaine used a sale-leaseback arrangement to obtain funds to renovate the historic Maggie L. Walker High School and reopen it in 2000 as a

magnet A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is responsible for the most notable property of a magnet: a force that pulls on other ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, steel, nicke ...

governor's school, the

Maggie L. Walker Governor's School for Government and International Studies The Maggie L. Walker Governor's School for Government and International Studies (MLWGSGIS) is a public regional magnet high school in Richmond, Virginia. One of the 18 Virginia Governor's Schools, it draws students from 14 jurisdictions: the ...

, which "now serves the top students in Central Virginia". Three elementary schools and one middle school were also built in Richmond under Kaine. Along with Commonwealth's attorney David Hicks, U.S. attorney James Comey, and police chief Jerry Oliver, Kaine was a supporter of

Project Exile Project Exile is a federal program started in Richmond, Virginia, in 1997. Project Exile shifted the prosecution of illegal technical gun possession offenses to federal court, where they carried a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federa ...

, an initiative that shifted gun crimes to federal court, where defendants faced harsher sentences. Though controversial, the effort was effective and achieved widespread support; the city's homicide rate fell by 55% during Kaine's mayoralty.Peter Whoriskey
Kaine Edges Out Katzen For State's No. 2 Office
''The Washington Post'' (November 7, 2001). Kaine touted Project Exile during his 2001 campaign for lieutenant governor. On several occasions, Kaine voted against tax increases, and supported a

tax abatement A tax holiday is a temporary reduction or elimination of a tax. It is synonymous with tax abatement, tax subsidy or tax reduction. Governments usually create tax holidays as incentives for business investment. Tax relief can be provided in the ...

program for renovated buildings, which was credited for a housing renovation boom in the city. ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...

'' magazine named Richmond one of "the 10 best cities in America to do business" during Kaine's term. According to John Moeser, a professor emeritus of urban studies and planning at

Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is a public research university in Richmond, Virginia. VCU was founded in 1838 as the medical department of Hampden–Sydney College, becoming the Medical College of Virginia in 1854. In 1968, the Virginia ...

and later a visiting fellow at the University of Richmond's Center for Civic Engagement, Mayor Kaine "was energetic, charismatic and, most important, spoke openly about his commitment to racial reconciliation in Richmond." ''The New York Times'' wrote that Kaine "was by all accounts instrumental in bridging the city's racial divide." In the early part of his term, Kaine issued an apology for the city's role in

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

; the apology was generally well received as "a genuine, heartfelt expression". In the latter part of his term, a contentious debate took place over the inclusion of a portrait of

Confederate general The general officers of the Confederate States Army (CSA) were the senior military leaders of the Confederacy during the American Civil War of 1861–1865. They were often former officers from the United States Army (the regular army) prior to ...

Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, towards the end of which he was appointed the overall commander of the Confederate States Army. He led the Army of Nor ...

in a set of historic murals to be placed on city floodwalls. Many African Americans were outraged that Lee would appear on city walls, while Southern heritage groups demanded that the picture remain. Kaine proposed a compromise in which Lee would appear as part of a series of murals that also included figures like

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation throu ...

and Powhatan Beaty. His stance drew criticism from the NAACP; Kaine argued that placing Lee on the floodwall made sense in context, and that "Much of our history is not pleasant; you can't whitewash it." Kaine's proposal passed the council on a 6–3 vote. During his mayoralty, Kaine drew criticism for spending $6,000 in public funds on buses to the

Million Mom March The Million Mom March was a rally held on Mother's Day, May 14, 2000 in the Washington, D.C. National Mall by the Million Mom March organization to call for stricter gun control. The march reportedly drew an estimated attendance of 500,000 to 7 ...

, an anti-gun-violence rally in Washington, D.C.; after a backlash, he raised the money privately and reimbursed the city.

Lieutenant governor of Virginia (2002–2006)

Kaine ran for lieutenant governor of Virginia in

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanist ...

. He joined the race after state senator Emily Couric dropped out due to pancreatic cancer and endorsed Kaine as her replacement. In the Democratic

primary election Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...

, Kaine ran against state delegate Alan A. Diamonstein of Newport News, and state delegate Jerrauld C. Jones of

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the Nor ...

. Kaine won the nomination, with 39.7% of the vote to Diamonstein's 31.4% and Jones's 28.9%. In the general election, Kaine won with 925,974 votes (50.35%), edging out his Republican opponent, state delegate

Jay Katzen Jay Kenneth Katzen (August 23, 1936 – April 9, 2020) was an American diplomat, business consultant, state legislator, and government agency administrator, and former President of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation. He graduated from P ...

, who received 883,886 (48.06%).Elections Database: 2001 Lieutenant Governor General Election
Virginia Department of Elections.

Libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's en ...

Gary Reams received 28,783 votes (1.57%). Kaine was inaugurated on January 12, 2002, and was sworn in by his wife Anne Holton, a state judge.

2005 gubernatorial election

In 2005, Kaine ran for

against Republican candidate Jerry W. Kilgore, a former state attorney general. Kaine was considered an underdog for most of the race, trailing in polls for most of the campaign.2005 Virginia Gubernatorial Election: November 8, 2005

RealClearPolitics RealClearPolitics (RCP) is an American political news website and polling data aggregator formed in 2000 by former options trader John McIntyre and former advertising agency account executive Tom Bevan. The site features selected political new ...

. Two September polls showed Kaine trailing Kilgore—by four percentage points in a ''Washington Post'' poll and by one point in a Mason-Dixon/''

Roanoke Times ''The Roanoke Times'' is the primary newspaper in Southwestern Virginia and is based in Roanoke, Virginia, United States. It is published by Lee Enterprises. In addition to its headquarters in Roanoke, it maintains a bureau in Christiansburg, ...

'' poll. The final polls of the race before the election showed Kaine slightly edging ahead of Kilgore.Warren Fiske
Life after the campaign for Jerry Kilgore
, ''The Virginian-Pilot'' (April 30, 2006). Kaine ultimately prevailed, winning 1,025,942 votes (51.7%) to Kilgore's 912,327 (46.0%).Elections Database: 2005 Governor General Election
Virginia Department of Elections. A third candidate,

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

state Senator A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. Description A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of ...

H. Russell Potts Jr., ran as an " independent Republican"Chris L. Jenkins
Kaine Launches Va. Campaign on a Centrist Path: Democrat Pitches Fiscal Responsibility in Gubernatorial Bid
''The Washington Post'' (March 17, 2005), B01. and received 43,953 votes (2.2%). Kaine emphasized fiscal responsibility and a centrist message. He expressed support for controlling sprawl and tackling longstanding traffic issues, an issue that resonated in the northern Virginia

exurbs An exurb (or alternately: exurban area) is an area outside the typically denser inner suburban area, at the edge of a metropolitan area, which has some economic and commuting connection to the metro area, low housing density, and growth. It sh ...

. He benefited from his association with the popular outgoing Democratic governor,

Mark Warner Mark Robert Warner (born December 15, 1954) is an American businessman and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Virginia, a seat he has held since 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, Warner served as the 69th gov ...

, who had performed well in traditionally Republican areas of the state. On the campaign trail, Kaine referred to the "Warner-Kaine administration" in speeches and received Warner's strong backing. Kilgore later attributed his defeat to Warner's high popularity and President George W. Bush's sharply declining popularity; Bush held a rally with Kilgore on the campaign's final day. The campaign turned sharply negative in its final weeks, with Kilgore running television attack ads that falsely claimed that Kaine believed that "

Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

doesn't qualify for the death penalty."No Death Penalty For Hitler? GOP Ad Goes Too Far
, FactCheck.org,

Annenberg Public Policy Center The Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) is a center for the study of public policy at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania. It has offices in Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia, where the University of Pennsyl ...

(October 19, 2005). The ads also attacked Kaine for his service ten years earlier as a court-appointed attorney for a death-row inmate.Editorial: Death Penalty Smear
''The Washington Post'' (October 12, 2005). The editorial boards of ''The Washington Post'' and a number of Virginia newspapers denounced the ads as a "smear" and "dishonest." Kaine responded with an ad "in which he told voters that he opposes capital punishment but would take an oath and enforce the death penalty. In later polls, voters said they believed Kaine's response and were angered by Kilgore's negative ads." In the election, Kaine won by large margins in the Democratic strongholds such as Richmond and northern Virginia's inner suburbs (such as

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...

and Arlington), as well as in the Democratic-trending

Fairfax County Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is part of Northern Virginia and borders both the city of Alexandria and Arlington County and forms part of the suburban ring of Washington, D.C. ...

.Michael D. Shear
Democrat Kaine Wins in Virginia
''The Washington Post'' (November 9, 2005).James Dao

''The New York Times'' (November 9, 2005). Kaine also won Republican-leaning areas in Northern Virginia's outer suburbs, including Prince William County and Loudoun County, where George W. Bush had beat

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party, he ...

in the previous year's presidential election, and performed "surprisingly well in Republican strongholds like Virginia Beach and Chesapeake." Kaine also defeated Kilgore in the burgeoning Richmond suburbs. Kilgore led in southwest Virginia and in the

Shenandoah Valley The Shenandoah Valley () is a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridg ...

Governor of Virginia (2006–2010)

Kaine was sworn in as governor at the colonial Capitol at Williamsburg, on January 14, 2006, the first governor since

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...

to be inaugurated there. Kaine was chairman of the Southern Governors' Association from 2008 to 2009.A Guide to the Governor Timothy M. Kaine Administration Electronic Files, Email, 2002–2010 (bulk 2006–2009): Biographical Information
Library of Virginia (Accession Number 44708)

Democratic response to State of the Union address

On January 31, 2006, Kaine gave the Democratic response to President George W. Bush's 2006 State of the Union address. In it, he criticized the Bush administration's

No Child Left Behind Act The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) was a U.S. Act of Congress that reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act; it included Title I provisions applying to disadvantaged students. It supported standards-based educati ...

for "wreaking havoc on local school districts"; criticized congressional Republicans for cutting student loan programs; and condemned as "reckless" Bush's spending increases and

tax cuts A tax cut represents a decrease in the amount of money taken from taxpayers to go towards government revenue. Tax cuts decrease the revenue of the government and increase the disposable income of taxpayers. Tax cuts usually refer to reductions in ...

.Transcript: Virginia Governor Tim Kaine's Response
CQ Transcriptions (reprinted by ''The Washington Post'') (January 31, 2006); se
video of the response
via

C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American cable and satellite television network that was created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a nonprofit public service. It televises many proceedings of the United States ...

. Kaine praised bipartisan initiatives in Virginia "to make record investments in education" and to improve veterans' access to veterans' benefits. He criticized the Bush administration's conduct of the Iraq War and treatment of U.S. soldiers, saying that "the American people were given inaccurate information about reasons for invading Iraq"; "our troops in Iraq were not given the best

body armor Body armor, also known as body armour, personal armor or armour, or a suit or coat of armor, is protective clothing designed to absorb or deflect physical attacks. Historically used to protect military personnel, today it is also used by variou ...

or the best intelligence"; and "the administration wants to further reduce military and veterans' benefits."

Energy, the environment, and conservation

As governor, Kaine protected of Virginia land from development, fulfilling a promise he made in 2005. His conservation efforts focused on conservation easements (voluntary easements that preserve the private ownership of a piece of land while also permanently protecting it from development); a substantial Virginia land preservation tax credit encouraged easements. From 2004 to 2009, the

Virginia Outdoors Foundation The Virginia Outdoors Foundation is a quasi-state agency formed by the Virginia General Assembly in 1966 "to promote the preservation of open space lands and to encourage private gifts of money, securities, land or other property to preserve the nat ...

(a quasi-governmental entity set up in 1966 to preserve open land in the state) protected more land than it had in the previous 40 years, a fact Kaine touted as his term drew to a close. As governor, Kaine established the Climate Change Commission, a bipartisan panel to study climate change issues.Lydia Wheeler
McAuliffe reconvenes climate commission Tim Kaine formed the group in 2008 when he was governor
, ''The Virginian-Pilot'' (July 3, 2014). The panel was shuttered under Kaine's Republican successor, Governor

Robert F. McDonnell Robert Francis McDonnell (born June 15, 1954) is an American attorney, businessman, politician, and former military officer who served as the 71st governor of Virginia from 2010 to 2014. His career ended after his corruption scandal and convi ...

, but revived (as the Governor's Climate Change and Resiliency Update Commission) under McDonnell's successor, Democratic Governor Terry McAuliffe. In 2008, Kaine supported a coal-fired power plant project in Wise County, clashing with environmentalists who opposed the project. In 2009, Kaine expressed support for tighter restrictions on mountaintop removal coal mining imposed by the Obama administration.

Healthcare and public health

In October 2006, Kaine signed an executive order banning smoking in all government buildings and state-owned cars as of January 1, 2007. He signed legislation banning smoking in restaurants and bars, with some exceptions, in March 2009, making Virginia the first Southern state to do so. In 2007, the Republican-controlled

Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 16 ...

passed legislation, with "overwhelming bipartisan support", to require girls to receive the

HPV vaccine Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines are vaccines that prevent infection by certain types of human papillomavirus (HPV). Available HPV vaccines protect against either two, four, or nine types of HPV. All HPV vaccines protect against at least HP ...

(which immunizes recipients against a virus that causes

cervical cancer Cervical cancer is a cancer arising from the cervix. It is due to the abnormal growth of cells that have the ability to invade or spread to other parts of the body. Early on, typically no symptoms are seen. Later symptoms may include abnormal ...

) before entering high school.Tim Craig
Kaine Wants Stronger Opt-Out for HPV Vaccine
''The Washington Post'' (February 28, 2007). Kaine expressed "some qualms" about the legislation and pushed for a strong opt-out provision, ultimately signing a bill that included a provision allowing parents to opt out of the requirement without citing a reason. In 2007, Kaine secured increases in state funding for nursing in the

and announced a 10% salary increase for nursing faculty above the normal salary increase for state employees, plus additional funds for scholarships for nursing master's programs. The initiatives were aimed at addressing a shortage of practicing nurses.

Virginia Tech shooting

After the 2007

Virginia Tech shooting The Virginia Tech shooting was a spree shooting that occurred on April 16, 2007, comprising two attacks on the campus of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States. Seung-Hui Cho, an u ...

, in which

Seung-Hui Cho Seung-Hui Cho (, properly Cho Seung-hui; January 18, 1984 – April 16, 2007) was a Korean-born mass murderer responsible for the Virginia Tech shooting in 2007. Cho killed 32 people and wounded 17 others with two semi-automatic pistols on Apr ...

killed 32 people, Kaine appointed an eight-member Virginia Tech Review Panel,Mass Shootings at April 16, 2007: Report of the Review Panel Presented to Governor Kaine, Commonwealth of Virginia
(August 2007). chaired by retired Virginia State Police superintendent W. Gerald Massengill, to probe the event.Tim Craig
Thorough Review Set Of Va. Tech
''The Washington Post'' (May 2, 2007). The commission members included specialists in psychology, law, forensics and higher education as well as former Secretary of Homeland Security

Tom Ridge Thomas Joseph Ridge (born August 26, 1945) is an American politician and author who served as the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security from 2001 to 2003, and the first United States Secretary of Homeland Security from 2003 to 2005. ...

. The commission first met in May 2007, and issued its findings and recommendations in August 2007. Among other recommendations, the panel proposed many

mental health Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles Stress (biology), stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-maki ...

reforms. Based on the panel's recommendations, Kaine proposed $42 million of investment in mental health programs and reforms, included "boosting access to outpatient and emergency mental health services, increasing the number of case managers and improving monitoring of community-based providers." In April 2007, Kaine signed an executive order instructing state agencies to step up efforts to block gun sales to people involuntarily committed to inpatient and outpatient mental health treatment centers. Kaine, who had been in Japan on a trade mission at the time of the shootings, received widespread praise for his quick return to the state and his handling of the issue.

Budget and economy

Among Kaine's greatest challenges as governor came during the 2008–09 economic crisis; ''The Washington Post'' wrote that "perhaps his greatest success was keeping the state running despite

he crisis He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...

" Amid the

Great Recession The Great Recession was a period of marked general decline, i.e. a recession, observed in national economies globally that occurred from late 2007 into 2009. The scale and timing of the recession varied from country to country (see map). At ...

, unemployment in Virginia remained lower than the national average.John W. Schoen
Possible Hillary VP pick Tim Kaine brings solid economic record
CNBC (July 22, 2016). During Kaine's tenure as governor, the unemployment rate in Virginia rose from 3.2% to 7.4%, a smaller increase than the national rate, which rose from 4.7% to 9.9% during the same period. As governor, Kaine approved about $3.31 billion in

general fund Fund accounting is an accounting system for recording resources whose use has been limited by the donor, grant authority, governing agency, or other individuals or organisations or by law.Leon E. Hay (1980). ''Accounting for Governmental and Non ...

spending cuts, and after his term in office, the Virginia General Assembly adopted about $1.33 billion in additional budget cuts that Kaine had recommended, for a total of $4.64 billion in cuts. ''The Washington Post'' wrote, "Unable to raise taxes and required by law to balance the budget, he was forced to make unpopular cuts that led to such things as shuttered highway rest stops and higher public university tuition." Virginia was one of three states to earn the highest grade in terms of management in a report by the nonpartisan Pew Center on the States. Virginia took first place each year from 2006 to 2009 in ''Forbes'' magazine's "Best States For Business" rankings.

Infrastructure and transportation

In July 2007, during the debate on the Silver Line of the Washington Metro through Tysons Corner, Kaine supported an elevated track solution rather than a tunnel, citing costs and potential delays that would put federal funding at risk. In 2006, Kaine pressed the general assembly to support a legislative package to ease severe traffic congestion by spending about $1 billion annually for highway construction, repairs to aging roads, mass transit, and other transportation projects. The money would be raised through increases in taxes and fees that would have raised an estimated $4 billion in revenue over four years. The Democratic-controlled Senate supported the plan, but the Republican-controlled House was unwilling to approve the taxes necessary to carry out the project, and the effort failed even after a

special session In a legislature, a special session (also extraordinary session) is a period when the body convenes outside of the normal legislative session. This most frequently occurs in order to complete unfinished tasks for the year (often delayed by confli ...

of the legislature was called over the stalemate.Michael D. Shear
Kaine Tries to Steer Support for Traffic Budget
''The Washington Post'' (March 29, 2006). In 2007, Republicans in the General Assembly passed their own transportation-funding bill. Rather than a statewide tax increase to finance the transportation improvements, as Kaine and most legislative Democrats favored, the Republican bill called for transportation funding "to come from borrowing $2.5 billion and paying the debt costs out of the general fund"; authorized local tax increase in Northern Virginia; increased fees and taxes on rental cars, commercial real estate, and hotels; and increased

traffic infraction A traffic ticket is a notice issued by a law enforcement official to a motorist or other road user, indicating that the user has violated traffic laws. Traffic tickets generally come in two forms, citing a moving violation, such as exceeding t ...

fines and driver's licenses fees. Kaine and most legislative Democrats opposed the Republican legislation, calling it inadequate to address traffic congestion and arguing that the withdrawal of funds from the general fund would affect core services such as health care, law enforcement, and education. Kaine ultimately signed a bill with amendments reflecting "concerns by local government officials and a bipartisan group of lawmakers who were concerned that the plan took too much money from the state's general fund."

Education

Under Kaine, participation in Virginia in early childhood education increased by 40.2% due to his expansion of the Virginia Preschool Initiative, which makes pre-kindergarten more accessible to four-year-olds from households close to the poverty line. Kaine sought increases to the budget for preschool programs every year during his term as governor. Virginia was rated as the best state to raise a child in a 2007 report by '' Education Week'' and the Pew Center on the States.

Cabinet and appointments

Kaine made the following appointments to his

Virginia Governor's Cabinet The Virginia Governor's Cabinet is a body of the most senior appointed officers of the executive branch of the government of Virginia. The Cabinet is responsible for advising the Governor of Virginia. Cabinet officers are nominated by the Governor ...

: * Chief of Staff: William Leighty (2006–2007), Wayne Turnage (2007–2010) * Secretary of Administration: Viola Baskerville (2006–2010) *

Virginia Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry The Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry is a member of the Virginia Governor's Cabinet. The office is currently vacant pending confirmation of Secretary-designate Matt Lohr's nomination. Background The Virginia Secretariat of Agriculture and ...

Robert Bloxom Robert Spurgeon Bloxom Sr. (April 26, 1937 – December 13, 2020) was an American politician from the Commonwealth of Virginia. He served in the Virginia House of Delegates before becoming Virginia Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry, Secretary ...

(2006–2010) * Secretary of Commerce and Trade:

Patrick Gottschalk Patrick Owen "Pat" Gottschalk (born April 22, 1953) is an American attorney. A partner at Williams Mullen, he previously served as Virginia Secretary of Commerce under Governor Tim Kaine. References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gottschalk, Patrick Li ...

(2006–2010) * Secretary of the Commonwealth:

Katherine Hanley Katherine Keith "Kate" Hanley (born March 5, 1943) is an American Democratic Party (United States), Democratic politician in Commonwealth of Virginia, Virginia. She currently serves as Secretary of the Fairfax County, Virginia, Fairfax County Ele ...

(2006–2010) * Secretary of Education:

Thomas R. Morris Thomas Robbins Morris (born July 28, 1944) is an American educator who served as Secretary of Education in the cabinet of Virginia Governor Tim Kaine from 2006 to 2010. Prior to his appointment, he served fourteen years as the President of Emory ...

(2006–2010) * Secretary of Finance:

Jody Wagner Jody Moses Wagner (born August 6, 1955) is an American politician from Virginia Beach, Virginia. A Democrat, she served as State Treasurer of Virginia from January 2002 to January 2006, and as Virginia Secretary of Finance in the Cabinet of Gov ...

(2006–2008),

Ric Brown Richard Daryl "Ric" Brown (born June 1, 1946) is an American economist who served from 2008-2018 as the Virginia Secretary of Finance. He joined the Virginia Department of Planning and Budget in 1971 and was appointed as its director by Governor J ...

(2008–2010) * Secretary of Health and Human Resources: Marilyn Tavenner (2006–2010) * Secretary of Natural Resources:

Preston Bryant Larry Preston Bryant, Jr. (born June 5, 1964) is a former member of the Virginia House of Delegates who served as Secretary of Natural Resources under Governor Tim Kaine Timothy Michael Kaine (; born February 26, 1958) is an American lawye ...

(2006–2010) * Secretary of Public Safety:

John W. Marshall John William Marshall (born July 6, 1958) served as Secretary of Public Safety in the Virginia Governor's Cabinet, Cabinet of Virginia Governor Tim Kaine from 2006 to 2010, and Governor Mark Warner from 2002 to 2006, and was the longest-serving me ...

(2006–2010) * Secretary of Technology: Aneesh Chopra (2006–2009),

Leonard Pomata Leonard M. "Len" Pomata (born November 6, 1945) is a former Virginia Secretary of Technology. He was appointed by Governor Tim Kaine following the resignation of Aneesh Chopra to become Chief Technology Officer of the United States in 2009. He ...

(2009–2010) *

Secretary of Transportation A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a wh ...

Pierce Homer Pierce Robinson Homer (born January 25, 1956) is a former Virginia Secretary of Transportation, serving from 2005 to 2010 under Governors Mark Warner and Tim Kaine Timothy Michael Kaine (; born February 26, 1958) is an American lawyer and po ...

(2006–2010) * Counselor to the Governor: Lawrence Roberts (2006–2009) * Counselor to the Governor: Mark Rubin (2009–2010) * Assistant for Commonwealth Preparedness: Robert P. Crouch (2006–2010) * Senior Advisor for Workforce: Daniel G. LeBlanc (2006–2010) As governor, Kaine made a number of appointments to the Virginia state courts. He made two appointments to the Supreme Court of Virginia,Alicia Petska
Kaine: Plan to oust Va. Supreme Court appointee is worrisome
''Roanoke Times'' (August 9, 2015) naming

Chesapeake Chesapeake often refers to: *Chesapeake people, a Native American tribe also known as the Chesepian * The Chesapeake, a.k.a. Chesapeake Bay *Delmarva Peninsula, also known as the Chesapeake Peninsula Chesapeake may also refer to: Populated plac ...

circuit judge

S. Bernard Goodwyn Samuel Bernard Goodwyn (born February 23, 1961) is the chief justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia. He previously served as a circuit court judge in Chesapeake. Early life and education A Southampton County native, Goodwyn graduated ''magn ...

to the Court in 2007 and

Virginia Court of Appeals The Court of Appeals of Virginia, established January 1, 1985, is an intermediate appellate court of 17 judges that hears appeals from decisions of Virginia's circuit courts and the Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission. The Court sits in p ...

Judge

LeRoy F. Millette Jr. LeRoy Francis Millette Jr. (born July 30, 1949) is a senior justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia. Millette was appointed to the Court by Virginia Governor Tim Kaine to fill a vacancy created by the retirement of Justice G. Steven Agee, who ...

in 2008.Jerry Markon
Sniper Judge Takes Seat on Virginia Supreme Court
''The Washington Post'' (August 28, 2008). On September 27, 2007, just weeks after appointing Esam Omeish to the 20-member Virginia Commission on Immigration, Kaine learned that Omeish had made videos accusing Israel of genocide and calling for President Bush's impeachment. He immediately requested and received Omeish's resignation and said that background checks would be more thorough in the future.

2008 vice presidential speculation

Kaine announced his support for Barack Obama's presidential bid in February 2007. It was maintained that Kaine's endorsement was the first from a statewide elected official outside of

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...

. Because Kaine was a relatively popular governor of a Southern state, there was media speculation that he was a potential nominee for

vice president A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...

. Obama had supported Kaine in his campaign for governor, saying, "Tim Kaine has a message of fiscal responsibility and generosity of spirit. That kind of message can sell anywhere." On July 28, 2008,

Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American, German-owned political journalism newspaper company based in Arlington County, Virginia, that covers politics and policy in the United States and intern ...

reported that Kaine was "very, very high" on Obama's shortlist for vice president, a list that also included Senator

of New York, Governor

Kathleen Sebelius Kathleen Sebelius (; née Gilligan, born May 15, 1948) is an American businesswoman and politician who served as the 21st United States secretary of Health and Human Services from 2009 until 2014. As Secretary of Health and Human Services, Sebel ...

of Kansas, Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana, and Senator Joe Biden of Delaware. Obama ultimately selected Biden. It was later reported that Obama told Kaine, in breaking the news to him, "You are the pick of my heart, but Joe

iden Integrated Digital Enhanced Network (iDEN) is a mobile telecommunications technology, developed by Motorola, which provides its users the benefits of a trunked radio and a cellular telephone. It was called the first mobile social network by m ...

is the pick of my head". Obama later wrote that he had ultimately narrowed down the choice for his running mate to Kaine and Biden. He said, "At the time, I was much closer to Tim", but Obama and his advisers David Axelrod and

David Plouffe David Plouffe (; born May 27, 1967) is an American political and business strategist best known as the campaign manager for Barack Obama's successful 2008 presidential campaign. A long-time Democratic Party campaign consultant, he was a partner ...

wondered whether voters would accept a ticket of "two relatively young, inexperienced, and liberal civil rights attorneys" and Obama felt the contrast between him and Biden was a strength, and that Biden's age and experience would reassure voters concerned that Obama was too young to be president.

Democratic National Committee chair (2009–2011)

In January 2009, Kaine became chair of the

. He had turned down the position the first time it was offered to him, expressing misgivings about accepting a partisan position, but took the job at Obama's request. He took on the position as chair part-time as he continued his term as governor of Virginia. Kaine's main goals as DNC chair "were protecting the party's seats in Congress during the 2010 midterms and integrating the president's campaign apparatus, Organizing for America, and its technological acumen into the party machinery."Patrick Caldwell
He's No One's Idea of a Liberal Hero, But Tim Kaine Is a Natural Fit for Clinton: Behind the Virginia senator's moderate reputation is a history of quiet progressive activism
''Mother Jones'' (July 7, 2016). In the 2010 midterms, the DNC under Kaine's leadership outraised the

Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is a U.S. political committee that assists the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican brand and political platform, as well as assisting in ...

(RNC) by $30 million, but Democrats lost control of the House and lost seats in the Senate amidst a Tea Party backlash. Kaine was not generally blamed for the losses. Kaine kept a low profile in the position in comparison to his counterpart, RNC chairman Michael Steele. He focused more on fundraising and maintaining party unity than on attacking political opponents. In February 2011, after Kaine spoke to union leaders in

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

, Organizing for America got involved in Wisconsin's budget battle and opposed Republican-sponsored anti-union legislation. It made phone calls, sent emails, and distributed messages via

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dust ...

and

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

to build crowds for rallies. After completing his term as governor in January 2010, Kaine taught part-time at the University of Richmond, teaching a course in spring 2010 at the Jepson School of Leadership Studies and another in fall 2010 at the University of Richmond School of Law. He explained that he had chosen to teach at a private university rather than a public university "because it would not have been right for a sitting governor to be seeking employment at an institution when he writes the budget and appoints the board of the institution."

U.S Senate

Elections

2012

After Senator Jim Webb's decision not to seek reelection, Kaine announced on April 5, 2011, that he would run for Webb's seat. He was initially reluctant to return to public office, but Webb, Senator Mark Warner, and other Virginia Democrats saw Kaine as the strongest potential Democratic candidate and convinced him to run. Kaine named Lawrence Roberts as his campaign chairman. Mike Henry was chosen as his campaign manager. Kaine filmed announcement videos in English and Spanish and was unopposed for the Democratic nomination. He defeated former senator and governor George Allen in the general election.

2018

After the 2016 election, Kaine said he would run for reelection to the Senate in 2018. He expressed his desire to emulate

John Warner John William Warner III (February 18, 1927 – May 25, 2021) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the United States Secretary of the Navy from 1972 to 1974 and as a five-term Republican U.S. Senator from Virginia from 1979 to 20 ...

, who represented Virginia in the Senate for 30 years. He added that he would not run for president or vice president in the future. In his 2018 Senate campaign against Republican nominee and Trump ally

, Kaine had the endorsement of ''

The Richmond Times-Dispatch The ''Richmond Times-Dispatch'' (''RTD'' or ''TD'' for short) is the primary daily newspaper in Richmond, Virginia, Richmond, the capital of Virginia, and the primary newspaper of record for the state of Virginia. Circulation The ''Times-Dispatc ...

'', marking the first time in decades the paper had endorsed a Democrat. After taking an early lead in his race against Stewart, Kaine worked to support other Democrats who, in seven districts, were challenging incumbent Republicans for House seats. Kaine defeated Stewart by more than 15 points.

Tenure

Kaine was sworn in on January 3, 2013, reuniting him with

, the senior senator. Kaine was lieutenant governor when Warner was governor of Virginia. On June 11, 2013, Kaine delivered a speech on the Senate floor in support of the bipartisan " Gang of Eight" immigration bill. The speech was entirely in Spanish, marking the first time a senator had ever made a speech on the Senate floor in a language other than English. Tim Kaine 2016

As a member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, Kaine pushed for a new Congressional authorization of military force for the American operations against

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic ter ...

(ISIL). Kaine supported the

Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA; fa, برنامه جامع اقدام مشترک , barnāmeye jāme'e eqdāme moshtarak (, ''BARJAM'')), commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal or Iran deal, is an agreement on the Iranian nuclear ...

with

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

, though he also helped Republican senator

Bob Corker Robert Phillips Corker Jr. (born August 24, 1952) is an American businessman and politician who served as a United States Senator from Tennessee from 2007 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he served as Chair of the Senate Foreign Rel ...

hold a vote on a resolution of disapproval of the deal. Kaine has taken several trips throughout the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

, meeting with the leaders of states such as Turkey and Israel. While in the Senate, Kaine has continued to teach part-time at the University of Richmond, receiving a salary of $16,000 per year. Kaine has voted with his party more than 90% of the time. According to ''The Washington Post'', Kaine has "crafted a largely progressive record as a senator." He reportedly has good relations with both Democratic and Republican senators. During the 2016 vice-presidential campaign, Kaine frequently criticized Donald Trump, saying that Trump "as commander-in-chief scares me to death" and had a "bizarre fascination with strongmen and authoritarian leaders".Alan He
Tim Kaine says Trump has "authoritarian tendencies"
CBS News (February 7, 2017). In 2017, after Trump took office, Kaine continued to criticize his "authoritarian tendencies", citing his attacks on media, judges, and peaceful protesters. At an event at George Mason University, Kaine said that with Trump in office, Americans "are in a 'living experiment' to see whether or not the Constitution still works to check executive power." In February 2017, Kaine met with

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013 ...

at a general audience at the Vatican. Kaine also met with the Jesuit Refugee Service to discuss refugees and met with Vatican officials to discuss Latin American issues.Sen. Tim Kaine meets Pope Francis in Vatican City
WTKR (February 23, 2017). The same month, Kaine delivered an address, "The Truman Doctrine at 70", at London's Chatham House.

Committee assignments

* Committee on Armed Services ** Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities ** Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support (Chair) ** Subcommittee on Seapower *

Committee on Foreign Relations The United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is a standing committee of the U.S. Senate charged with leading foreign-policy legislation and debate in the Senate. It is generally responsible for overseeing and funding foreign aid p ...

** Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health Policy ** Subcommittee on State Department and USAID Management, International Operations, and Bilateral International Development ** Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Transnational Crime, Civilian Security, Democracy, Human Rights, and Global Women's Issues (Chair) *

Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions The United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) generally considers matters relating to these issues. Its jurisdiction also extends beyond these issues to include several more specific areas, as defined by Sen ...

** Subcommittee on Children and Families ** Subcommittee on Primary Health and Retirement Security * Committee on the Budget

Caucuses

In January 2014, Kaine and Senator

Rob Portman Robert Jones Portman (born December 19, 1955) is an American attorney and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Ohio since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, Portman was the 35th director of the Office of Management ...

established the bipartisan Senate Career and Technical Education Caucus (CTE Caucus), which focuses on

vocational education Vocational education is education that prepares people to work as a technician or to take up employment in a skilled craft or trade as a tradesperson or artisan. Vocational Education can also be seen as that type of education given to an i ...

and technical education. Kaine and Portman co-chair the caucus.Jeremy Herb
Kaine on the issues: Not always taking the party line
''Politico'' (July 23, 2016). In 2014, Kaine and Portman introduced the CTE Excellence and Equity Act to the Senate; the legislation would provide $500 million in federal funding, distributed by competitive grants, to

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

s to further CTE programs.Jim Nolan
Kaine to introduce legislation on high school career and technical education
''Richmond Times-Dispatch'' (March 16, 2016). The legislation, introduced as an amendment to the omnibus Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006, would promote

apprenticeship Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...

s and similar initiatives. Kaine and Portman introduced similar legislation, the Educating Tomorrow's Workforce Act, in 2017.

2016 vice-presidential campaign

Tim Kaine at Clinton Kaine rally Aug 2016 1

Kaine endorsed

for president in 2016 and campaigned actively for her in seven states during the primaries. He had been the subject of considerable speculation as a possible running mate for Clinton, with several news reports indicating that he was at or near the top of Clinton's list of people under consideration alongside figures such as

Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth Ann Warren ( née Herring; born June 22, 1949) is an American politician and former law professor who is the senior United States senator from Massachusetts, serving since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party and regarded as ...

and Julian Castro. The ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' reported that Clinton's husband, former

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and again ...

, supported Kaine as his wife's vice-presidential selection, noting his domestic and national security résumé. On July 22, 2016, she announced Kaine would be her running mate in the election. Clinton introduced Kaine as her choice in a joint appearance at a rally at

Florida International University Florida International University (FIU) is a public research university with its main campus in Miami-Dade County. Founded in 1965, the school opened its doors to students in 1972. FIU has grown to become the third-largest university in Florid ...

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

the next day. The 2016 Democratic National Convention nominated him for vice president on July 27, 2016. Kaine was the first Virginian since

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

to be on a major-party ticket, and was the first Virginian to run for vice president on a major-party ticket since John Tyler in 1840; he was also the first senator or former senator from Virginia to be on a major-party ticket since Tyler. In accordance with longstanding political custom in the U.S., upon being nominated for vice president Kaine publicly released his full tax returns for the previous ten years.Steve Eder & Kitty Bennett
Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine Show New Tax Returns, Pressuring Donald Trump
''The New York Times'' (August 12, 2016). He also publicly released medical records; his physician, Brian P. Monahan, the

Attending Physician of the United States Congress The Attending Physician of the United States Congress is the physician responsible for the medical welfare of the members of the United States Congress (the 435 representatives, five delegates, Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico, and 100 se ...

, wrote that Kaine was "in overall excellent health." In September Kaine published a campaign book co-authored with Clinton, '' Stronger Together''. In Kaine's preparations for the vice presidential debate in October 2016, lawyer Robert Barnett played the role of Republican vice-presidential nominee

. (During Pence's own debate preparations, Wisconsin governor Scott Walker played the role of Kaine.) Pence was criticized after the debate for not defending Trump's comments, while Kaine was criticized for being too aggressive and interrupting. According to

ABC News ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast '' ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include morning news-talk show '' Good Morning America'', '' ...

, Kaine interrupted 70 times during the debate, while Pence interrupted 40 times. Despite winning a plurality of the national popular vote, the Clinton-Kaine ticket lost the Electoral College, and thus the election, to the Trump-Pence ticket on November 8, 2016. This is the only election Kaine has ever lost. Clinton-Kaine did win Virginia, the only Southern state to vote for the Democratic ticket, a victory attributed in part to Kaine.Jenna Portnoy
Tim Kaine returns to the Senate, seemingly untarnished by devastating loss
''The Washington Post'' (November 9, 2016).

Personality and leadership style

About 145,000 emails from Kaine and his staff during his term as governor are publicly accessible at the Library of Virginia. ''Politico'' conducted an analysis of the correspondence and wrote that the messages show Kaine to be a "media-savvy" and detail-oriented "micro-manager" who is also a policy "

wonk Wonk may refer to: * Wonky (genre), an experimental genre of electronic music * Wonk (character), a character from ''The Adventures of Wonk'' by Muriel Levy * Wonk, in the List of ''Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo'' characters * Wonk FM, an American radio s ...

". According to ''The New York Times'', Kaine "is widely described by people in his political orbit as a likable if less than charismatic figure...guided by moral convictions that flow from his deep Christian faith." On ''

Meet the Press ''Meet the Press'' is a weekly American television Sunday morning talk shows, news/interview program broadcast on NBC. It is the List of longest-running television shows by category, longest-running program on American television, though the curr ...

'', Kaine called himself "boring."

Political positions

In terms of political ideology, '' FiveThirtyEight'' gives Kaine an average score of −37 (−100 is the most liberal, and 100 is the most conservative). ''FiveThirtyEight'' characterizes him as a "mainstream Democrat" and notes that his ideology score is very similar to that of Joe Biden. Three conservative groups—the

American Conservative Union The American Conservative Union (ACU) is an American political organization that advocates for conservative policies, ranks politicians based on their level of conservatism, and organizes the Conservative Political Action Conference. Founded o ...

, the Club for Growth, and

Heritage Action Heritage Action for America, more commonly known simply as Heritage Action, is a conservative policy advocacy organization founded in 2010. Heritage Action, which has affiliates throughout the United States, is a sister organization of the conser ...

—gave Kaine 0% ratings in the few years before 2016, while the liberal group

Americans for Democratic Action Americans for Democratic Action (ADA) is a liberal American political organization advocating progressive policies. ADA views itself as supporting social and economic justice through lobbying, grassroots organizing, research, and supporting pr ...

gave Kaine a 90% rating in 2014. ''The'' ''New York Times'' wrote that "in hyperpartisan Washington, he is often seen as a centrist" while also describing him as an "old-fashioned liberal...driven by Jesuit ideals."

Abortion, birth control, and sex education

Kaine, a Roman Catholic, personally opposes

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pre ...

,Ed Kilgore
Tim Kaine and the Evolution of Pro-Choice Politics
''New York'' (June 23, 2016). but is "largely inclined to keep the law out of women's reproductive decisions." He has said, "I'm a strong supporter of ''

Roe v. Wade ''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States conferred the right to have an abortion. The decision struck down many federal and st ...

'' and women being able to make these decisions. In government, we have enough things to worry about. We don't need to make people's reproductive decisions for them." Kaine supports some legal restrictions on abortion, such as requiring parental consent for minors (with a judicial bypass procedure) and banning late-term abortions in cases where the woman's life is not at risk. In 2009, Kaine signed a bill to create a "Choose Life" license plate, among the more than 200 Virginia specialty plates already offered, the proceeds of which would partly go to Heartbeat International, a Christian organization that operates anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers. Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice America expressed disappointment in Kaine's decision. Kaine considered such license plate messages a matter of free speech and added that the move was "in keeping with the commonwealth's longtime practice of approving specialty plates with all manner of political and social messages." Kaine previously criticized the Obama administration for "not providing a 'broad enough religious employer exemption'" in the contraceptive mandate of the

Affordable Care Act The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and colloquially known as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Pres ...

, but praised a 2012 amendment to the regulations that required insurers to provide

birth control Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent unwanted pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth contr ...

to employees when an employer was an objecting religious organization. In 2005, when running for governor, Kaine said he favored reducing abortions by "Enforcing the current Virginia restrictions on abortion and passing an enforceable ban on partial birth abortion that protects the life and health of the mother"; "Fighting teen pregnancy through abstinence-focused education"; "Ensuring women's access to health care (including legal contraception) and economic opportunity"; and "Promoting adoption as an alternative for women facing unwanted pregnancies." In 2007, as governor, Kaine cut off state funding for abstinence-only sex education programs, citing studies that showed such programs were ineffective, while comprehensive sex education programs were more effective.Tim Craig
Abstinence-Only Sex-Ed Funds Cut Off by Kaine
''The Washington Post'' (November 13, 2007). Kaine believes that both abstinence and contraceptives must be taught, and that education should be evidence-based. As a senator, Kaine has received perfect scores from

Planned Parenthood The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is a nonprofit organization that provides reproductive health care in the United States and globally. It is a tax-exempt corporation under Internal Reve ...

and the abortion-rights advocacy group NARAL. He has received a score of zero from the

anti-abortion Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in respo ...

National Right to Life Committee.

Campaign finance

Kaine "strongly disagrees" with '' Citizens United v. FEC'' (2010). In 2015, Kaine joined a group of Senate Democrats in a letter to

Securities and Exchange Commission The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The primary purpose of the SEC is to enforce the law against market ...

Chairwoman Mary Jo White that said the ruling "reversed long-standing precedent and has moved our country in a different and disturbing direction when it comes to corporate influence in politics." They urged the SEC to require

publicly traded companies A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) company can be listed on a stock exchange (list ...

to disclose political spending to their shareholders to "increase transparency in the U.S. political process".

Capital punishment

Kaine personally opposes

capital punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that ...

, but presided over 11 executions while governor. He said, "I really struggled with apital punishmentas governor. I have a moral position against the death penalty. But I took an oath of office to uphold it. Following an oath of office is also a moral obligation." During his time in office he commuted one death sentence in June 2008, that of

Percy Levar Walton Percy Levar Walton (born October 18, 1978) was convicted and sentenced to death in 1997 for the November 1996 murders of Elizabeth and Jessee Kendrick, aged 81 and 80, and Archie Moore, aged 33, in Danville, Virginia. He was scheduled to be exec ...

, to

life imprisonment without parole Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...

on grounds of mental incompetence, writing that "one cannot reasonably conclude that Walton is fully aware of the punishment he is about to suffer and why he is to suffer it" and thus that executing him would be unconstitutional. Kaine vetoed a number of bills to expand the death sentence to more crimes, saying: "I do not believe that further expansion of the death penalty is necessary to protect human life or provide for public safety needs."Sandhya Somashekhar
Kaine Vetoes Death Penalty Expansion
''The Washington Post'' (March 27, 2007). Some of the vetoes were overridden. On July 31, 2019, after Attorney General William Barr announced that the United States federal government would resume the use of the death penalty for the first time in over 20 years, Kaine co-sponsored a bill banning the death penalty.

Environment, energy, and climate change

Kaine acknowledges the scientific consensus on climate change, and in a 2014 Senate speech criticized

climate change deniers Climate change denial, or global warming denial, is denial, dismissal, or doubt that contradicts the scientific consensus on climate change, including the extent to which it is caused by humans, its effects on nature and human society, or the ...

, as well as those who "may not deny the climate science, but ... deny that the U.S. can or should be a leader in taking any steps" to address the issue.Kaine: Solution To Climate Change Is American Innovation
Office of Senator Tim Kaine (March 11, 2014). Kaine has expressed concern about

sea level rise Globally, sea levels are rising due to human-caused climate change. Between 1901 and 2018, the globally averaged sea level rose by , or 1–2 mm per year on average.IPCC, 2019Summary for Policymakers InIPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cr ...

(a major consequence of climate change), and in particular its effect on coastal Virginia. In 2014, he partnered with two Virginia Republicans—U.S. Representatives Rob Wittman and Scott Rigell—to hold a conference on sea-level rise and "local adaptation efforts to protect military installations in the

Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James, Nansemond and Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's Point where the Chesapeake Bay flows into the Atlantic ...

area." Kaine endorses making coal energy production cleaner, saying that it is imperative "to convert coal to electricity with less pollution than we do today." He has criticized those who "frame the debate as a conflict between an economy and the environment", saying that "protecting the environment is good for the economy." Kaine co-sponsored the Advanced Clean Coal Technology Investment in Our Nation (ACCTION) Act, legislation to increase investment in clean coal technologies. He voted against legislation to approve the

Keystone XL The Keystone Pipeline System is an oil pipeline system in Canada and the United States, commissioned in 2010 and owned by TC Energy and as of 31 March 2020 the Government of Alberta. It runs from the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin in Alberta ...

pipeline. Kaine supports the use of

hydraulic fracturing Fracking (also known as hydraulic fracturing, hydrofracturing, or hydrofracking) is a well stimulation technique involving the fracturing of bedrock formations by a pressurized liquid. The process involves the high-pressure injection of "fra ...

(fracking) to harvest natural gas from shale formations. He believes this will reduce carbon pollution. Kaine voted against an amendment introduced by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand that would have repealed a provision in the

Energy Policy Act of 2005 The Energy Policy Act of 2005 () is a federal law signed by President George W. Bush on August 8, 2005, at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The act, described by proponents as an attempt to combat growing energy probl ...

that exempts fracking from the underground injection control provisions of the Safe Drinking Water Act. As a result, regulation of fracking remains in the hands of state agencies; the EPA cannot regulate it or require a federal permit. Kaine supports exporting liquefied natural gas (LNG) to other countries. Like his fellow senator from Virginia,

, Kaine applauded the

U.S. Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency inc ...

's plan to close most, but not all, of the George Washington National Forest to fracking and other horizontal drilling activities. In 2013, Kaine supported oil and gas exploration off the coast of Virginia, saying, "I have long believed that the moratorium on offshore drilling, based on a cost-benefit calculation performed decades ago, should be reexamined." In April 2015, Kaine reiterated his opposition to the moratorium on offshore drilling. In March 2016, Kaine signaled that his position was softening, saying he was "particularly struck by the material objections of the Department of Defense to the incompatibility of drilling with naval operations off Virginia's coast... I have participated in this debate for over a decade as a governor and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. The DOD has been relatively quiet during this public debate and has never shared their objections with me before." By August 2016, Kaine stated his support for a ban on offshore drilling, bringing his position in line with Hillary Clinton's and the Obama administration's. Kaine supports the development of solar energy and offshore wind turbines. Based on his votes on environmental issues in the Senate, the League of Conservation Voters has given Kaine a 95% score for 2018, and a 94% lifetime score. (At the time of his vice-presidential campaign, Kaine had an 88% score for 2015, and a 91% lifetime score.) In March 2019, Kaine was one of 11 senators to sponsor the Climate Security Act of 2019, legislation forming a new group within the State Department that would be responsible for developing strategies to integrate climate science and data into operations of national security as well as restoring the post of special envoy for the Arctic, which Trump had dismantled in 2017. The proposed envoy would advise the president and the administration on the potential effects of climate on national security and be responsible for facilitating all interagency communication between federal science and security agencies. In April 2019, Kaine was one of 12 senators to sign a bipartisan letter to top senators on the Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development advocating that the Energy Department be granted maximum funding for carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS), arguing that American job growth could be stimulated by investment in viable options to capture carbon emissions released into the atmosphere and expressing disagreement with the Trump's 2020 budget request to combine the two federal programs that include carbon capture research.

Financial regulation

Kaine strongly supports

financial regulation Financial regulation is a form of regulation or supervision, which subjects financial institutions to certain requirements, restrictions and guidelines, aiming to maintain the stability and integrity of the financial system. This may be handle ...

and the

Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act The Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, commonly referred to as Dodd–Frank, is a United States federal law that was enacted on July 21, 2010. The law overhauled financial regulation in the aftermath of the Great Rece ...

. In July 2016, he signed a bipartisan letter that "urged the

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is an agency of the United States government responsible for consumer protection in the financial sector. CFPB's jurisdiction includes banks, credit unions, securities firms, payday lenders, mo ...

to 'carefully tailor its rulemaking' nder Dodd-Frankregarding community banks and

credit union A credit union, a type of financial institution similar to a commercial bank, is a member-owned nonprofit financial cooperative. Credit unions generally provide services to members similar to retail banks, including deposit accounts, provis ...

s so as not to 'unduly burden' these institutions with regulations aimed at

commercial bank A commercial bank is a financial institution which accepts deposits from the public and gives loans for the purposes of consumption and investment to make profit. It can also refer to a bank, or a division of a large bank, which deals with ...

s." The letter prompted criticism from

progressives Progressivism holds that it is possible to improve human societies through political action. As a political movement, progressivism seeks to advance the human condition through social reform based on purported advancements in science, techn ...

who viewed it as anti-regulation.

Democracy for America Democracy for America (DFA) is a progressive political action committee, headquartered in Burlington, Vermont. Founded by former Democratic National Committee Chair Howard Dean in 2004, DFA leads public awareness campaigns on a variety of pub ...

executive director Charles Chamberlain called the letter "a lobbyist-driven effort to help banks dodge consumer protection standards and regulations designed to prevent banks from destroying our economy." Kaine responded, "it's important you don't treat every financial institution the same. It wasn't credit unions that tanked the economy, it wasn't local community banks that tanked the economy, generally wasn't regional banks that did things that tanked the economy." He also signed a letter urging that a requirement that regional banks report liquidity levels on a daily basis be loosened.

Foreign and defense policy

In the Senate, Kaine has supported the normalization of U.S.–Cuban relations and the international nuclear agreement with Iran. Kaine expressed support for

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

's right to defend itself during the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict. In September 2016, in advance of a UN Security Council resolution 2334 condemning

Israeli settlement Israeli settlements, or Israeli colonies, are civilian communities inhabited by Israeli citizens, overwhelmingly of Jewish ethnicity, built on lands occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. The international community considers Israeli se ...

s in the occupied

Palestinian territories The Palestinian territories are the two regions of the former British Mandate for Palestine that have been militarily occupied by Israel since the Six-Day War of 1967, namely: the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip. The ...

, he signed an AIPAC-sponsored letter urging Obama to veto "one-sided" resolutions against Israel. In 2015, Kaine expressed support for the Saudi-led coalition's airstrikes in Yemen against Houthi forces fighting the government of President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, but in 2018, he was one of seven senators to sign a letter to Secretary of State

Mike Pompeo Michael Richard Pompeo (; born December 30, 1963) is an American politician, diplomat, and businessman who served under President Donald Trump as director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from 2017 to 2018 and as the 70th United State ...

saying that they found it "difficult to reconcile known facts with at least two" of the Trump administration's certifications that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were attempting to protect Yemeni civilians and were in compliance with U.S. laws on arms sales, citing an inconsistency with a memo from Pompeo to Congress expressly stating that on some occasions the Saudi and Emirates governments had failed to adopt measures to reduce civilian casualties. Kaine also condemned the Trump administration for its "eagerness to give the Saudis anything they want" after the administration approved the transfer of nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia after the murder of Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi. In July 2017, Kaine voted for the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act that placed

sanctions on Iran There have been a number of sanctions against Iran imposed by a number of countries, especially the United States, and international entities. Iran was the most sanctioned country in the world until it was surpassed by Russia following its inv ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

, and

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...

. In 2019, Kaine was one of 34 Senate Democrats to sign a letter to Trump urging him to reconsider cuts to U.S. foreign aid to the Northern Triangle countries of

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

in the Fiscal Year 2018 national security appropriations bill. The letter said that Trump had "consistently expressed a flawed understanding of U.S. foreign assistance", viewing it as a gift or charity to foreign governments rather than a tool to promote American interests and

collective security Collective security can be understood as a security arrangement, political, regional, or global, in which each state in the system accepts that the security of one is the concern of all, and therefore commits to a collective response to threats ...

. The senators wrote that U.S. foreign assistance to Central American countries, by improving stability and alleviating poverty in the region, reduced Central American migration flows to the U.S. In 2019, Kaine co-sponsored the South China Sea and East China Sea Sanctions Act, a bipartisan bill reintroduced by

Marco Rubio Marco Antonio Rubio (born May 28, 1971) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Florida, a seat he has held since 2011. A member of the ...

and Ben Cardin that was intended to disrupt China's consolidation or expansion of its claims of jurisdiction over both the sea and airspace in disputed zones in the South China Sea.

Grand strategy and democracy promotion

After the 2016 presidential campaign, Kaine wrote an extensive essay in ''

Foreign Affairs ''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership organization and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy a ...

'' outlining his underlying foreign policy philosophy. According to Kaine, American foreign policy has suffered a lack of direction since the 1990s because the end of the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because t ...

rendered irrelevant America's previous

grand strategy Grand strategy or high strategy is a state's strategy of how means can be used to advance and achieve national interests. Issues of grand strategy typically include the choice of primary versus secondary theaters in war, distribution of resource ...

, which he identifies as the Truman Doctrine. This lack of grand strategy makes American actions seem random, complicating the policy-making process and hindering American leaders' efforts to convince the public that American foreign policy is worthwhile. To remedy this, Kaine proposed a new grand strategy based mainly on democracy promotion. His grand strategy is informed by a tri-polar balance of international power, with one pole being democratic states including the U.S. and its allies, the second autocratic powers led by

and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

, and the third nonstate actors (multinational corporations, NGOs, gangs, etc.). First, Kaine believes that the United States should work to support democracy in already democratic countries, as democracy globally has been declining for many years. To maintain democracy in democratic countries, Kaine proposes the creation of an

intergovernmental organization Globalization is social change Social change is the alteration of the social order of a society which may include changes in social institutions, social behaviours or social relations. Definition Social change may not refer to the not ...

consisting of all the world's democracies in which states can cooperate on solutions to problems such as corruption and voter inclusion. He compares this hypothetical group to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, in which advanced industrialized countries collaborate on economic policy. Kaine believes that this new organization will help democracies remain democratic, as well as promote democracy in other countries by giving them viable democratic examples to emulate. In this way, Kaine says that the U.S. should no longer see itself as the indispensable nation, but rather the "exemplary democracy". Second, Kaine proposes that democracies should coordinate to best interact with authoritarian states. Depending on the circumstances, democracies should either "confront", "compete", or "cooperate" with autocracies. For example, Kaine observes that the U.S. competes with its authoritarian adversaries by strengthening military and commercial alliances, and confronts them by decrying their

human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...

records. Finally, Kaine believes that democracies and autocracies should cooperate when they have the same interests, such as combating climate change. In July 2017, Kaine expanded on the grand strategy proposed in this essay in an interview at the

Brookings Institution The Brookings Institution, often stylized as simply Brookings, is an American research group founded in 1916. Located on Think Tank Row in Washington, D.C., the organization conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in e ...

with international relations scholar Robert Kagan.

Afghanistan

Kaine's website states, "The main mission in Afghanistan—destroying Al Qaeda—is nearly complete and we should bring our troops home as quickly as we can, consistent with the need to make sure that Afghanistan poses no danger in the broader region."

Latin America

Kaine believes that American foreign policy has neglected relations with

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived ...

and argues for an increased focus on

the Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

, saying, "We have seldom paid enough attention to the Americas, in particular, and when we have—whether through the Monroe Doctrine or by battling communist movements during the Cold War—we have focused more on blocking outsiders from building influence in the Western Hemisphere than we have on the nations already there."

War powers

Kaine is known for "expertise on the constitutional powers of the presidency" and has said that "war powers questions" are a "personal obsession" of his. He has stressed that under the Constitution, "Congress has the power to declare war—and only Congress."Martin Matishak
Kaine: Trump not a 'king,' can't go to war without Congress
''Politico'' (April 15, 2018). Kaine called the 2018 U.S. missile strikes Trump ordered against the Syrian government illegal because they were undertaken without congressional approval. Kaine and Senator

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two te ...

introduced the War Powers Consultation Act of 2014, which would replace the

War Powers Act of 1973 The War Powers Resolution (also known as the War Powers Resolution of 1973 or the War Powers Act) () is a federal law intended to check the U.S. president's power to commit the United States to a ...

, bringing Congress back into decisions on the deployment of U.S. military forces. The bill would establish a Congressional Consultation Committee, with which the president would be required to consult regularly regarding significant foreign policy matters before ordering the deployment of the armed forces into a significant armed conflict and at least every two months for the duration of any significant armed conflict. Kaine argued for the bill by citing his "frustration" over the sloppiness of "process and communication over decisions of war", noting that "presidents tend to overreach and Congress sometimes willingly ducks tough votes and decisions. We all have to do better." In February 2018, Kaine was one of 18 senators to sign a letter to Trump arguing that striking

with "a preventative or preemptive U.S. military strike would lack either a constitutional basis or legal authority" without congressional approval. In January 2020, Kaine introduced a new war powers resolution that would prohibit the U.S. from entering hostilities against Iran within 30 days unless it was responding to an imminent threat. The next month, the

Iran War Powers Resolution The War Powers Resolution (also known as the War Powers Resolution of 1973 or the War Powers Act) () is a federal law intended to check the U.S. president's power to commit the United States to an ...

passed the Senate 55–45, securing the votes of eight Republicans along with the Democrats. Trump vetoed the measure, and the Senate failed to override the veto.

Syria, Iraq, and ISIL

In 2014, Kaine argued that the U.S. military intervention against

(ISIL) undertaken by Obama was unconstitutional without a new congressional authorization for the use of military force against ISIL. In November 2014, at the Halifax International Security Forum, Kaine and McCain emphasized the necessity of such a congressional authorization, saying: "You just can't have a war without Congress. You can't ask people to risk their lives, risk getting killed, seeing other folks getting killed or injured if Congress isn't willing to do the job to put their thumbprint on this and say, this is a national mission and worth it." After the April

2017 Shayrat missile strike On the morning of 7 April 2017, the United States launched 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles from the Mediterranean Sea into Syria, aimed at Shayrat Airbase controlled by the Syrian government. The strike was executed under responsibility of U.S. Pr ...

in Syria, ordered by Trump, Kaine said, "There is no legal justification for this. He should not have done this without coming to Congress." On ''Meet the Press'', Kaine said, "I'm a strong supporter that the U.S. should take action to protect humanitarian causes, like the ban on chemical weapons. Where I differ from this administration, and I took the same position with respect to President Obama, we are a nation that's not supposed to take military action, start war, without a plan that's presented to and approved by Congress." On December 11, 2014, after a five-month campaign by Kaine, the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved by 10–8 (along party lines) a measure authorizing military force against ISIL but barring the use of ground troops. In October 2015, Kaine criticized Obama's approach to the Syrian Civil War, saying that the establishment of humanitarian no-fly zones would have alleviated the humanitarian crisis in Syria. In April 2018, Kaine criticized Trump for authorizing the launch of a precision military strike on Syria without consulting Congress, calling the strike an "illegal military act". On February 26, 2021, Kaine demanded answers from President Biden after he ordered airstrikes on Syria against Iran-backed

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

s without giving "legal justification" to members of Congress beforehand.

Firearms

Kaine is a firearms owner. He has supported expanded background checks for weapons purchases as well as "restrictions on the sale of combat-style weapons and high-capacity magazines." As governor, Kaine oversaw the closing of loopholes in Virginia law that allowed some who had failed background checks to purchase guns. In the Senate, he has supported legislation that would require background checks for weapons sold via

gun show In the United States, a gun show is an event where promoters generally rent large public venues and then rent tables for display areas for dealers of guns and related items, and charge admission for buyers. The majority of guns for sale at gun s ...

s and via the internet. He also supports legislation to bar weapons sales to suspected terrorists on the No Fly List. In November 2017, Kaine was a cosponsor of the Military Domestic Violence Reporting Enhancement Act, a bill that would form a charge of domestic violence under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) and stipulate that convictions be reported to federal databases with the authority to keep abusers from purchasing firearms within three days in an attempt to close a loophole in the UCMJ through which convicted abusers retained the ability to purchase firearms. In March 2018, Kaine was one of ten senators to sign a letter to Chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Lamar Alexander and ranking Democrat Patty Murray requesting they schedule a hearing on the causes and remedies of mass shootings in the wake of the

Stoneman Douglas High School shooting On February 14, 2018, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz opened fire on students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in the Miami suburban town of Parkland, Florida, murdering 17 people and injuring 17 others. Cruz, a former student at ...

. In June 2019, Kaine was one of four senators to cosponsor the Help Empower Americans to Respond (HEAR) Act, legislation that would ban suppressors being imported, sold, made, sent elsewhere or possessed and grant a silencer buyback program as well as include certain exceptions for current and former law enforcement personnel and others. The bill was intended to respond to the Virginia Beach shooting, in which the perpetrator used a .45-caliber handgun with multiple extended magazines and a suppressor. Kaine has a 100% rating from the

Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence Brady: United Against Gun Violence (formerly “Handgun Control, Inc”., the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence) is an American nonprofit organization that advocates for gun control and against ...

and an "F" rating from the

NRA The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent gun rights lobbying organization while contin ...

Health care

Kaine supports the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2009 (Obamacare), saying in 2012, "I was a supporter and remain a supporter of the Affordable Care Act. I felt like it was a statement that we were going to put some things in the rearview mirror." In 2013, he said that he agreed that changes to the ACA should be debated, but criticized Republicans for "wrapping them up with the threat" of a federal government shutdown. In 2018, Kaine and Senator

Michael Bennet Michael Farrand Bennet (born November 28, 1964) is an American attorney, businessman, and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Colorado, a seat he has held since 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, he was appointed ...

proposed the creation of "Medicare X"—a public health insurance option modeled after Medicare that would be available on ACA

health insurance marketplace In the United States, health insurance marketplaces, also called health exchanges, are organizations in each state through which people can purchase health insurance. People can purchase health insurance that complies with the Patient Protecti ...

s along with private options. The proposal is a more incrementalist alternative to

Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. He was the U.S. representative for the state's at-large congressional district from 1991 to 20 ...

's push for "

Medicare for All Single-payer healthcare is a type of universal healthcare in which the costs of essential healthcare for all residents are covered by a single public system (hence "single-payer"). Single-payer systems may contract for healthcare services from ...

" (single-payer health care). In December 2018, Kaine was one of 42 senators to sign a letter to Trump administration officials Alex Azar, Seema Verma, and Steve Mnuchin arguing that the administration was improperly using Section 1332 of the ACA to authorize states to "increase health care costs for millions of consumers while weakening protections for individuals with pre-existing conditions." The senators requested the administration withdraw the policy and "re-engage with stakeholders, states, and Congress." In January 2019, Kaine was one of six Democratic senators to introduce the American Miners Act of 2019, a bill that would amend the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 to swap funds in excess of the amounts needed to meet existing obligations under the Abandoned Mine Land fund to the 1974 Pension Plan as part of an effort to prevent its insolvency as a result of coal company bankruptcies and the 2008 financial crisis. It also increased the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund tax and ensured that miners affected by the 2018 coal company bankruptcies would not lose their health care. In December 2016, Kaine was one of 17 senators to sign a letter to Trump asking him to fulfill a campaign pledge to bring down the cost of prescription drugs. In February 2017, he and 30 other senators signed a letter to Kaléo Pharmaceuticals in response to the opioid-overdose-reversing device Evzio rising in price from $690 in 2014 to $4,500 and requested the company provide the detailed price structure for Evzio, the number of devices Kaléo Pharmaceuticals set aside for donation, and the totality of federal reimbursements Evzio received in the previous year. In February 2019, Kaine was one of 11 senators to sign a letter to insulin manufacturers Eli Lilly and Company,

Novo Nordisk Novo Nordisk A/S is a Danish multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Bagsværd, Denmark, with production facilities in nine countries, and affiliates or offices in five countries. Novo Nordisk is controlled by majority shareholder ...

, and Sanofi about increased insulin prices and charging that the price increases caused patients to lack "access to the life-saving medications they need." In August 2019, Kaine was one of 19 Democratic senators to sign a letter to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar requesting data from the Trump administration on the consequences for healthcare if Texas prevailed in its lawsuit seeking to gut the Affordable Care Act. The senators wrote, "Upending the current health care system will create an enormous hole in the pocketbooks of the people we serve as well as wreck state budgets; therefore, we ask for data to help states and Congress better understand the potential consequences of the position the Administration is taking in court." In September 2019, amid discussions to prevent a government shutdown, Kaine was one of six Democratic senators to sign a letter to congressional leadership advocating legislation that would permanently fund health care and pension benefits for retired coal miners as "families in Virginia, West Virginia, Wyoming, Alabama, Colorado, North Dakota and New Mexico" would start to receive notifications of health care termination by the end of the following month.

Immigration

Kaine supports the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and

Deferred Action for Parental Accountability Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA), sometimes called Deferred Action for Parental Accountability, was a planned United States immigration policy to grant deferred action status to certain undocumented im ...

(DAPA) programs, which allow up to five million undocumented immigrants to gain deferral of deportation and authorization to legally work in the United States. Alongside Senator Mark Warner and many other members of Congress, he signed on to an amicus brief in support of the program in the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

case '' United States v. Texas''. Kaine also supports comprehensive immigration reform, which would allow persons illegally present in the U.S. to earn legal status by paying a fine and taxes. In July 2019, following reports that the Trump administration intended to end protections of spouses, parents and children of active-duty service members from deportation, Kaine was one of 22 senators to sign a letter led by Tammy Duckworth arguing that the program allowed service members the ability "to fight for the United States overseas and not worry that their spouse, children, or parents will be deported while they are away" and that its termination would cause personal hardship for service members in combat. In July 2019, Kaine and 15 other Senate Democrats introduced the Protecting Sensitive Locations Act, a bill to mandate that ICE agents get approval from a supervisor before undertaking an immigration raid or other enforcement actions at "sensitive locations" (schools, hospitals, places of worship, and courthouses) except in special circumstances. The bill would also require agents to receive annual training and require ICE to submit an annual report on enforcement actions in those locations.

LGBT rights

In 2006, Kaine campaigned against an amendment to the Virginia State Constitution to ban

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

, and in March 2013, he announced his support of same-sex marriage. In the Senate, Kaine co-sponsored the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would bar employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. In 2005, Kaine said, "No couples in Virginia can adopt other than a married couple. That's the right policy." In 2011, he shifted his position. In 2012, he said, "there should be a license that would entitle a committed couple to the same rights as a married couple." During the 2016 presidential campaign, Kaine noted that his position on same-sex marriage was "at odds with the current doctrine of the church that I still attend." He predicted that the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

would someday adopt his view. In response, two bishops heading the doctrine and marriage committees of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said that the church's position "cannot change" and reaffirmed their opposition to same-sex marriage. In October 2018, Kaine was one of 20 senators to sign a letter to Secretary of State

urging him to reverse the State Department's policy of denying visas to same-sex partners of LGBTQ diplomats who had unions that were not recognized by their home countries, writing that the Trump administration's refusal to allow LGBTQ diplomats to bring their partners to the U.S. was tantamount to upholding the " discriminatory policies of many countries around the world." In June 2019, Kaine was one of 18 senators to sign a letter to Pompeo requesting an explanation of the State Department's decision not to issue an official statement that year commemorating

Pride Month LGBT Pride Month is a month, typically in June, dedicated to celebration and commemoration of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) pride. Pride Month began after the Stonewall riots, a series of gay liberation protests in 1969, and ha ...

or issue the annual cable outlining activities for embassies commemorating Pride Month. The signatories to the letter also asked why the LGBTI special envoy position had remained vacant. The authors said that the State Department's moves had sent "signals to the

international community The international community is an imprecise phrase used in geopolitics and international relations to refer to a broad group of people and governments of the world. As a rhetorical term Aside from its use as a general descriptor, the term is t ...

that the United States is abandoning the advancement of LGBTI rights as a foreign policy priority."

Taxes

Kaine supports allowing the Bush tax cuts to expire for those with incomes above $500,000. In 2012, Kaine supported raising the cap on income subject for the FICA (Social Security) payroll tax "so that it covers a similar percentage of income as it did in the 1980s under President Reagan, which would greatly extend the solvency of the (

Social Security Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifical ...

) program." In the Senate, Kaine has supported the

Marketplace Fairness Act The Marketplace Fairness Act is proposed legislation pending in the United States Congress that would enable state governments to collect sales taxes and use taxes from remote retailers with no physical presence in their state. Identical version ...

, which would allow states to require

online retailers Online shopping is a form of electronic commerce which allows consumers to directly buy goods or services from a seller over the Internet using a web browser or a mobile app. Consumers find a product of interest by visiting the website of ...

to collect sales taxes in the same manner as traditional brick-and-mortar retailers.

Trade

Kaine supported granting Obama Trade Promotion Authority (TPA or "fast track") to allow him to negotiate

free trade agreement A free-trade agreement (FTA) or treaty is an agreement according to international law to form a free-trade area between the cooperating states. There are two types of trade agreements: bilateral and multilateral. Bilateral trade agreements occ ...

s.Tim Kaine
Virginia Is a Global Gateway
''Richmond Times-Dispatch'' (May 16, 2015). He said the goal should be to "negotiate deals that protect workers' rights, environmental standards and intellectual property, while knocking down tariffs and other barriers that some countries erect to keep American products out." In July 2016, Kaine said the

Trans-Pacific Partnership The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), or Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, was a highly contested proposed trade agreement between 12 Pacific Rim economies, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Pe ...

(TPP) agreement was "an improvement of the status quo" and an "upgrade of labor standards... environmental standards... intellectual property protections", but maintained that he had not yet decided how to vote on final approval of the agreement, citing "significant concerns" over TPP's dispute resolution mechanism. Later that July, Kaine said that he could not support the TPP in its current form. Kaine has been a proponent of

NAFTA The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA ; es, Tratado de Libre Comercio de América del Norte, TLCAN; french: Accord de libre-échange nord-américain, ALÉNA) was an agreement signed by Canada, Mexico, and the United States that crea ...

Transportation, growth, and housing

Kaine supports some

smart growth Smart growth is an urban planning and transportation theory that concentrates growth in compact walkable urban centers to avoid sprawl. It also advocates compact, transit-oriented, walkable, bicycle-friendly land use, including neighborhood ...

-style policies (which he calls "a balanced approach to growth") to control sprawl and improve transportation. He favors a transportation policy that includes

public transit Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typi ...

, bicycles, and pedestrians. As governor, Kaine pushed through a $100 million open-space acquisition initiative. Under Kaine,

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada. ...

service in Virginia was expanded.Peter Bacque, "High-speed rail line would include various stops in Va.," ''Richmond Times-Dispatch'' (June 4, 2009). He also participated in a White House round-table discussion on

high-speed rail High-speed rail (HSR) is a type of rail system that runs significantly faster than traditional rail, using an integrated system of specialised rolling stock and dedicated tracks. While there is no single standard that applies worldwide, lines ...

in 2009. In April 2019, Kaine was one of 41 senators to sign a bipartisan letter in support of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Section 4 Capacity Building program, a program authorizing HUD to partner with nonprofit community development groups to provide support to community development corporations. The letter said that the longstanding program had successfully promoted economic and community development, opposed the proposed elimination of the plan in Trump's budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2020, and urged the Senate to support continued funding for Section 4 in Fiscal Year 2020.

Workers' rights and gender equality

Kaine is "generally pro- union" and has received a 96% lifetime Senate voting rating from the AFL–CIO, which praised his selection as Clinton's running mate. But Kaine supports Virginia's longstanding " right-to-work" law, which "frees union nonmembers from any legal obligation to pay fees to a union that bargains collectively on their behalf". Kaine supports the

Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 (, ) is a landmark federal statute in the United States that was the first bill signed into law by U.S. President Barack Obama on January 29, 2009. The act amends Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 an ...

, which expands the cases in which worker can sue against gender pay discrimination. After Clinton selected him as her running mate in 2016, Kaine was praised by the National Organization for Women. Kaine favors an increase in the

minimum wage A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation by the end of the 20th century. B ...

Electoral history

;2001 lieutenant gubernatorial election ;2005 gubernatorial election ;2012 U.S. Senate election ;2016 vice presidential election ;2018 U.S. Senate election

Personal life

Tim Kaine and Anne Holton 2012dncconvention-190 (8049827332) (cropped)

In November 1984, Kaine married Anne Bright Holton, the daughter of A. Linwood Holton Jr., a Republican who served as the 61st governor of Virginia from 1970 to 1974. The couple met while they were both students at Harvard Law School. Holton has been a judge for the

Virginia Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court A Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court, in Virginia, handles all cases involving juvenile crime, child abuse or child neglect, disputes involving custody and visitation, and other family-related matters, as well as cases in which a child ...

in Richmond. After serving as

first lady First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non- monarchical head of state or chief executive. The term is also used to describe a woman seen to be at the ...

of Virginia during her husband's term, she was appointed by Governor Terry McAuliffe in January 2014 to be Virginia's secretary of education, and held that position until July 2016, when she stepped down after her husband was named as the Democratic vice-presidential nominee. The couple has three children, one of whom is a

United States Marine The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through com ...

.Alan Suderman
Self-assured, Kaine brings a steady hand to Clinton ticket
, Associated Press (July 22, 2016). As of 2016, Kaine and his wife had been congregants of the St. Elizabeth Catholic Church in Richmond, a mostly black congregation, for 30 years. Kaine plays the

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica in ...

and often travels with several. Kaine is fluent in Spanish as a result of his nine months in Honduras. During the 2016 campaign, he became the first member of a presidential ticket to deliver a speech in Spanish. On May 28, 2020, Kaine announced that he and his wife had tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...

antibodies. In March 2022, it was reported that he has Long Covid symptoms.

Awards and honors

Kaine has received the Humanitarian Award from the

Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities The Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities (VCIC) is a non-profit organization that works to reduce prejudice in schools, businesses, and communities. Its activities include workshops, retreats, and customized training and education programs. V ...

, then the Virginia Region of the

National Conference for Community and Justice The National Conference for Community and Justice is an American social justice organization focused on fighting biases and promoting understanding between people of different races and cultures. The organization was founded in 1927 as the Natio ...

(2000), the Virginia Council of Churches' Faith in Action Award (2009), the University of Richmond School of Law's William Green Award for Professional Excellence (2012), the Award for Public Service in the Americas from the Inter-American Dialogue (2014), the Appalachian Trail Conservancy's Congressional Award (2015), and the

Center for the National Interest The Center for the National Interest is a Washington, D.C.-based public policy think tank. It was established by former U.S. President Richard Nixon on January 20, 1994, as the Nixon Center for Peace and Freedom. The group changed its name to Th ...

's Distinguished Service Award (2016). He was made a Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of Isabella the Catholic The Order of Isabella the Catholic ( es, Orden de Isabel la Católica) is a Spanish civil order and honor granted to persons and institutions in recognition of extraordinary services to the homeland or the promotion of international relations a ...

in 2017.Royal Decree 502/2017, 12 may
Spanish Official Journal (May 13, 2017) .

Notes

References

External links

U.S. Senate websiteCampaign website
* * , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Kaine, Tim * 1958 births 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American politicians 20th-century Roman Catholics 21st-century American lawyers 21st-century American politicians 21st-century Roman Catholics American civil rights lawyers American legal scholars American people of Irish descent American people of Scottish descent American Roman Catholic missionaries Catholics from Missouri Catholics from Minnesota Catholics from Virginia Democratic National Committee chairs Democratic Party governors of Virginia Democratic Party United States senators from Virginia Democratic Party (United States) vice presidential nominees Harvard Law School alumni Hillary Clinton 2016 presidential campaign Lawyers from Kansas City, Missouri Lieutenant Governors of Virginia Living people Mark Warner Mayors of Richmond, Virginia Politicians from Kansas City, Missouri Politicians from Saint Paul, Minnesota Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic Richmond, Virginia City Council members Roman Catholic missionaries in Honduras 2016 United States vice-presidential candidates University of Missouri alumni University of Richmond faculty Virginia lawyers