tim Kaine for VP
Clinton taps popular Spanish-speaking senator as running mate.
WASHINGTON: Hillary Clinton tapped Tim Kaine (pic), a popular Spanish-speaking senator from the swing state of Virginia, to be her running mate in the White House showdown against Donald Trump.
The pick comes three days before the start of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, where Clinton, and now Kaine, will be elevated as the nominees to the party’s presidential ticket.
“I’m thrilled to announce my running mate, @timkaine, a man who’s devoted his life to fighting for others. –H,” the former secretary of state tweeted on Friday.
Widely seen as a safe choice in a brutal election race, Kaine himself jokes that he is “boring”, the senator emerged as frontrunner in the veep stakes because he ticks so many boxes.
An experienced foreign policy hand who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services committees, he could help Clinton lock in two key voting blocs: Hispanics and the battleground state of Virginia.
Politically a centre-left Democrat, with working class roots and a spotless record both as governor and senator, he is also seen as helping Clinton win over votes from reluctant independent male voters, although at risk of alienating the party’s progressive left wing.
The pair hit the campaign trail together in Florida yesterday.
The 58-year-old Kaine swiftly tweeted: “Just got off the phone with Hillary. I’m honoured to be her running mate. Can’t wait to hit the trail tomorrow in Miami!”
Clinton, 68, had said she wanted a running mate with enough experience to “literally get up one day and be the president of the United States.”
Clinton put out a series of tweets heaping praise on the senator.
She described him as “a relentless optimist who believes no problem is unsolvable if you put in the work to solve it” saying his guiding principle was “the belief that you can make a difference through public service.”
One of Clinton’s tweets included a five-point graphic highlighting the senator’s youthful spell on a Jesuit mission in Honduras as well as his track record in fighting discrimination and gun violence. — AFP