Tim Kaine

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Timothy Michael Kaine (Template:IPAc-en Template:Respell; born February 26, 1958) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Virginia since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 70th governor of Virginia from 2006 to 2010, and as the 38th lieutenant governor of Virginia from 2002 to 2006. Kaine was the Democratic nominee for Vice President of the United States in the 2016 election as Hillary Clinton's running mate.

Born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Kaine grew up in Overland Park, Kansas, graduated from the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri, and earned a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School 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 city council. He was elected mayor of Richmond in 1998 and held that position until being elected lieutenant governor of Virginia in 2001. Kaine was elected governor of Virginia in 2005 and held that office from 2006 to 2010. He chaired the Democratic National Committee from 2009 to 2011. In 2012, Kaine was elected to the U.S. Senate, defeating former Virginia governor and senator George Allen.

On July 22, 2016, Hillary Clinton introduced Kaine as her vice-presidential running mate. The 2016 Democratic National Convention nominated him on July 27. Despite winning a plurality of the national popular vote, the ClintonTemplate:NdashKaine ticket lost the Electoral College, and therefore the election, to the Republican ticket of Donald Trump and Mike Pence on November 8, 2016. Kaine was reelected to a second Senate term in 2018, defeating Republican Corey Stewart. He was reelected for a third term in 2024, defeating Republican nominee Hung Cao. Template:TOC limit

Early life and education

File:SibleyManor.jpg

Apartment building where the Kaine family lived when he was born

Kaine was born at Saint Joseph's Hospital in Saint Paul, Minnesota. He is the eldest of three sons<ref name="Burton10" /><ref name="Pilot">Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref name="Pilot" /><ref name="O'DowdIrish">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="WeddingAnnouncement">Template:Cite news reprinting of announcement originally published on November 25, 1984.</ref> He was raised Catholic.<ref name="Pilot" /> One of Kaine's great-grandparents was Scottish and the other seven were Irish.<ref name="O'DowdIrish" /><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Kaine's family moved to Overland Park, Kansas, when Kaine was two years old, and he grew up in the Kansas City area.<ref name="dwyer" /> In 1976, he graduated from Rockhurst High School, a Jesuit all-boys preparatory school in Kansas City, Missouri.<ref name=Burton10/><ref name="timeline">Template:Cite news</ref> At Rockhurst, Kaine joined the debate team and was elected student body president.<ref name="Pilot"/>

Kaine received his Bachelor of Arts in economics from the University of Missouri in 1979, completing his degree in three years and graduating Omicron Delta Kappa and summa cum laude.<ref name="Burton10">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Pilot"/> He was a Coro Foundation fellow in Kansas City in 1978.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He entered Harvard Law School in 1979, interrupting his law studies after his first year to work in Honduras<ref name=ncrwinters>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=cspanprofile>Template:Cite interview</ref>Template:Efn for nine months from 1980 to 1981, helping Jesuit missionaries who ran a Catholic school in El Progreso.<ref name=dwyer>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="KaineSpanish">Template:Cite news</ref> While running a vocational center that taught carpentry and welding, he also helped increase the school's enrollment by recruiting local villagers.<ref name="Pilot"/> Kaine is fluent in Spanish as a result of his time in Honduras.<ref name="KaineSpanish"/>

After returning from Honduras, Kaine met his future wife, first-year Harvard Law student Anne Holton.<ref name="Pilot"/> He graduated from Harvard Law School with a J.D. degree in 1983.<ref name="Burton10"/> Kaine and Holton moved to Holton's hometown of Richmond, Virginia, after graduation,<ref name="Pilot"/> and Kaine was admitted to the Virginia bar in 1984.<ref name="timeline"/>

Legal career and Richmond City Council

After graduating from law school, Kaine was a law clerk for Judge R. Lanier Anderson III of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, in Macon, Georgia.<ref name="timeline"/> He then joined the Richmond law firm of Little, Parsley & Cluverius, P.C.<ref name="timeline"/> In 1987, Kaine became a director of the law firm of Mezzullo & McCandlish, P.C.<ref name="timeline"/> 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.<ref name="NGABio">Virginia: Past Governors' Bios: Tim Kaine, National Governors Association (accessed July 21, 2016).</ref> He was a board member of the Virginia chapter of Housing Opportunities Made Equal, which he represented in a landmark redlining discrimination lawsuit against Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. arising from the company's practices in Richmond.<ref name="CadeiBoring">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="StolbergSharpElbows">Sheryl Gay Stolberg, Tim Kaine: A Self-Effacing Senator in a Sharp-Elbows Era, The New York Times (July 22, 2016).</ref> 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.<ref name="StolbergSharpElbows"/>

Kaine did regular pro bono work.<ref name="CadeiBoring" /> In 1988, he started teaching legal ethics as an adjunct professor at the University of Richmond School of Law.<ref name="timeline"/><ref name="NGABio"/> Kaine taught at the University of Richmond for six years; his students included future Virginia attorney general Mark Herring.<ref name="NGABio"/><ref name="Baratko">Trevor Baratko, For a professor and his pupil, politics align, Loudoun Times-Mirror (October 19, 2012).</ref> He was a founding member of the Virginia Coalition to End Homelessness.<ref name="CadeiBoring" />

Kaine had a largely apolitical childhood, but he became interested in politics in part due to the influence of his wife's family and his experience attending Richmond city council meetings.<ref name=dwyer/> In 1994, he was elected the 2nd district member of the city council of the independent city of Richmond, defeating incumbent city councilor Benjamin P.A. Warthen by 97 votes.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="jmahler1"/> He took his seat on July 1 and retained the position until September 10, 2001, when he resigned; William J. Pantele was appointed to succeed him.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="BiegelsenNiceGuy">Amy Biegelsen, What's a Nice Guy Like Tim Kaine Doing in a Job Like This? Template:Webarchive, (Richmond, Va.) Style Weekly (February 25, 2009).</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Kaine spent four terms on the city council, the latter two as mayor of Richmond.<ref name="NGABio"/><ref name="SchwartzmanNiceGuy">Paul Schwartzman, What's a nice guy like Sen. Tim Kaine doing in a campaign like this?, The Washington Post (July 14, 2016).</ref>

Mayor of Richmond (1998–2001)

On July 1, 1998, Kaine was elected mayor of Richmond, succeeding Larry Chavis.<ref name="SinclairKaine">Melissa Scott Sinclair, Is Kaine Able? Template:Webarchive, (Richmond, Va.) Style Weekly.</ref><ref name="JohnsonHickey" /> The majority-black Richmond City CouncilTemplate:Efn chose him by an 8 to 1 vote,<ref name="jmahler1" /> making him the city's first white mayor in more than ten years,<ref name="BiegelsenNiceGuy" /><ref name="SchwartzmanNiceGuy" /> which was viewed as a surprise.<ref name="SinclairKaine" /> 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 him.<ref name="jmahler1">Template:Cite news</ref> Previous mayors had treated the role as primarily ceremonial,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> with the city manager effectively operating the city; Kaine treated it as a full-time job, taking a more hands-on role.<ref name="SinclairKaine" />

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 governor's school, the Maggie L. Walker Governor's School for Government and International Studies, which "now serves the top students in Central Virginia".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Three elementary schools and one middle school were also built in Richmond under Kaine.<ref name="LessigUnity">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Along with Commonwealth's attorney David Hicks, U.S. attorney James Comey, and police chief Jerry Oliver, Kaine supported Project Exile, an initiative that shifted gun crimes to federal court, where defendants faced harsher sentences.<ref name="SinclairKaine"/> Though controversial, the effort gained widespread support and the city's homicide rate fell by 55% during Kaine's mayoralty.<ref name="SinclairKaine"/><ref name="WhoriskeyEdges">Peter Whoriskey, Kaine Edges Out Katzen For State's No. 2 Office, The Washington Post (November 7, 2001).</ref> Kaine touted Project Exile during his 2001 campaign for lieutenant governor.<ref name="LessigUnity"/><ref name="WhoriskeyEdges"/>

On several occasions, Kaine voted against tax increases, and he supported a tax abatement program for renovated buildings, which was credited for a housing renovation boom in the city.<ref name="SinclairKaine"/> Forbes magazine named Richmond one of "the 10 best cities in America to do business" during Kaine's term.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

According to John Moeser, a professor emeritus of urban studies and planning at Virginia Commonwealth University and later a visiting fellow at the University of Richmond's Center for Civic Engagement, Kaine "was energetic, charismatic and, most important, spoke openly about his commitment to racial reconciliation in Richmond."<ref name="SinclairKaine"/> The New York Times wrote that Kaine "was by all accounts instrumental in bridging the city's racial divide".<ref name="StolbergSharpElbows"/> In the early part of his term, Kaine apologized for Richmond's role in slavery;<ref name="LessigUnity"/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> the apology was generally well received as "a genuine, heartfelt expression".<ref name="LessigUnity"/> In the latter part of his term, there was a contentious debate over the inclusion of a portrait of Confederate general Robert E. Lee in a set of historic murals to be placed on city floodwalls.<ref name="jmahler1"/><ref name="JohnsonHickey">Template:Cite news</ref> Many African Americans were outraged that Lee would appear on city walls, while Southern heritage groups demanded that the picture remain.<ref name="jmahler1"/> Kaine proposed a compromise whereby Lee would appear as part of a series of murals that also included figures like Abraham Lincoln and Powhatan Beaty.<ref name="jmahler1"/> The NAACP criticized his stance, but 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."<ref name="StolbergSharpElbows"/><ref name="JohnsonHickey"/> His proposal passed the council by a 6–3 vote.<ref name="jmahler1"/>

During his mayoralty, Kaine drew criticism for spending $6,000 in public funds on buses to the Million Mom March, an anti-gun-violence rally in Washington, D.C.; after a backlash, he raised the money privately and reimbursed the city.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Lieutenant governor of Virginia (2002–2006)

File:US Navy 030820-N-4294K-006 Commanding Officer, Naval Air Station (NAS) Oceana, Capt. T.F. Keeley briefs Virginia's Lt. Governor, Tim Kaine, on the cockpit of an F-14 Tomcat.jpg

Kaine in an F-14 Tomcat while touring a naval base in 2003

Kaine ran for lieutenant governor of Virginia in 2001. He joined the race after state senator Emily Couric dropped out due to pancreatic cancer and endorsed Kaine as her replacement.<ref name="Convictions"/> In the Democratic primary election, Kaine ran against state delegate Alan A. Diamonstein of Newport News, and state delegate Jerrauld C. Jones of Norfolk.<ref>Hank Shaw, Difference Few among Democrats, Free Lance-Star (May 21, 2001).</ref> Kaine won the nomination, with 39.7% of the vote to Diamonstein's 31.4% and Jones's 28.9%.<ref name=LtGovPrimaryResult/>

In the general election, Kaine won with 925,974 votes (50.35%), edging out his Republican opponent, state delegate Jay Katzen, who received 883,886 (48.06%).<ref name="LtGovGenResult">Elections Database: 2001 Lieutenant Governor General Election, Virginia Department of Elections.</ref> Libertarian Gary Reams received 28,783 votes (1.57%).<ref name="LtGovGenResult"/>

Kaine was inaugurated on January 12, 2002, and was sworn in by his wife Anne Holton, a state judge.<ref>Tim Kaine and Anne Holton Template:Webarchive (Associated Press photo by Steve Helber) (January 12, 2002).</ref>

Governor of Virginia (2006–2010)

Election

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File:Tim Kaine parade.jpg

Kaine at the Covington Labor Day Parade in Virginia, September 4, 2006

In 2005, Kaine ran for governor of Virginia against Republican candidate Jerry W. Kilgore, a former state attorney general. Kaine was considered an underdog for most of the race,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> trailing in polls for most of the campaign.<ref name="RealClearAggregator">2005 Virginia Gubernatorial Election: November 8, 2005, RealClearPolitics.</ref> 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 poll.<ref name="SlussDeadHeat">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="ShearDeanPoll">Template:Cite news</ref> The final polls of the race before the election showed Kaine slightly edging ahead of Kilgore.<ref name="RealClearAggregator"/><ref name="FiskeLifeAfter">Warren Fiske, Life after the campaign for Jerry Kilgore Template:Webarchive, The Virginian-Pilot (April 30, 2006).</ref>

Kaine ultimately prevailed, winning 1,025,942 votes (51.7%) to Kilgore's 912,327 (46.0%).<ref name="2005OfficialResults">Elections Database: 2005 Governor General Election, Virginia Department of Elections.</ref> A third candidate, independent state Senator H. Russell Potts Jr., ran as an "independent Republican"<ref name="JenkinsCentrist">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.</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and received 43,953 votes (2.2%).<ref name="2005OfficialResults"/>

Kaine emphasized fiscal responsibility and a centrist message.<ref name="ShearDeanPoll"/><ref name="JenkinsCentrist"/> He expressed support for controlling sprawl and tackling longstanding traffic issues, an issue that resonated in the northern Virginia exurbs.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He benefited from his association with the popular outgoing Democratic governor, Mark Warner, who had performed well in traditionally Republican areas of the state.<ref name="SlussDeadHeat"/> On the campaign trail, Kaine referred to the "Warner-Kaine administration" in speeches and received Warner's strong backing.<ref name="JenkinsCentrist"/><ref name ="WP">Michael D. Shear, Democrat Kaine Wins in Virginia, The Washington Post (November 9, 2005) ("From the beginning, Kaine's strategy was to target voters who like Warner. He repeatedly took credit for the accomplishments of the 'Warner-Kaine administration,' and he appeared frequently with the governor.").</ref> 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.<ref name="FiskeLifeAfter"/>

The campaign turned sharply negative in its final weeks, with Kilgore running television attack ads that falsely claimed that Kaine believed that "Hitler doesn't qualify for the death penalty."<ref name="FactCheck">No Death Penalty For Hitler? GOP Ad Goes Too Far Template:Webarchive, FactCheck.org, Annenberg Public Policy Center (October 19, 2005).</ref> The ads also attacked Kaine for his service ten years earlier as a court-appointed attorney for a death-row inmate.<ref name="WaPoDeath">Editorial: Death Penalty Smear, The Washington Post (October 12, 2005).</ref> The editorial boards of The Washington Post and a number of Virginia newspapers denounced the ads as a "smear" and "dishonest."<ref name="FactCheck"/><ref name="WaPoDeath"/><ref>Editorial: "Death penalty demagoguery," The Roanoke Times (October 13, 2005).</ref> 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."<ref name ="WP"/>

In the election, Kaine won by large margins in the Democratic strongholds such as Richmond and northern Virginia's inner suburbs (such as Alexandria and Arlington), as well as in the Democratic-trending Fairfax County.<ref name ="WP"/><ref name="Dao">James Dao, Democrat Wins Race for Governor in Virginia, The New York Times (November 9, 2005).</ref> 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 in the previous year's presidential election,<ref name="ShearKaineWins">Michael D. Shear, Democrat Kaine Wins in Virginia, The Washington Post (November 9, 2005).</ref> and performed "surprisingly well in Republican strongholds like Virginia Beach and Chesapeake."<ref name="Dao"/> Kaine also defeated Kilgore in the burgeoning Richmond suburbs.<ref name="ShearKaineWins"/> Kilgore led in southwest Virginia and in the Shenandoah Valley.<ref name="ShearKaineWins"/>

Tenure

Kaine was sworn in as governor at the colonial Capitol at Williamsburg, on January 14, 2006, the first governor since Thomas Jefferson to be inaugurated there.<ref name="NGABio"/>

Kaine was chairman of the Southern Governors' Association from 2008 to 2009.<ref name="UVAGuide">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)</ref>

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 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.<ref name="06DemResponse">Transcript: Virginia Governor Tim Kaine's Response, CQ Transcriptions (reprinted by The Washington Post) (January 31, 2006); see video of the response via C-SPAN.</ref> Kaine praised bipartisan initiatives in Virginia "to make record investments in education" and to improve veterans' access to veterans' benefits.<ref name="06DemResponse"/> 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 or the best intelligence"; and "the administration wants to further reduce military and veterans' benefits."<ref name="06DemResponse"/>

Energy, the environment, and conservation

As governor, Kaine protected Template:Convert of Virginia land from development, fulfilling a promise he made in 2005.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Virginia Conservation Lands Database, Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation (accessed July 22, 2016) ("DCR was also responsible for tracking the progress of Former Governor Tim Kaine's 4-year, 400,000 acre Land Conservation Goal").</ref> 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.<ref name="WHSV">Template:Citation</ref> From 2004 to 2009, the Virginia Outdoors Foundation (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.<ref name="WHSV"/>

As governor, Kaine established the Climate Change Commission, a bipartisan panel to study climate change issues.<ref name="WheelerClimateCmn">Lydia Wheeler, McAuliffe reconvenes climate commission Tim Kaine formed the group in 2008 when he was governor Template:Webarchive, The Virginian-Pilot (July 3, 2014).</ref> The panel was shuttered under Kaine's Republican successor, Governor Robert F. McDonnell, but revived (as the Governor's Climate Change and Resiliency Update Commission) under McDonnell's successor, Democratic Governor Terry McAuliffe.<ref name="WheelerClimateCmn"/><ref>Jenna Portnoy, McAuliffe sets solar energy goal for Va. government, The Washington Post (December 21, 2015).</ref>

In 2008, Kaine supported a coal-fired power plant project in Wise County, clashing with environmentalists who opposed the project.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite press release</ref>

In 2009, Kaine expressed support for tighter restrictions on mountaintop removal coal mining imposed by the Obama administration.<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He signed legislation banning smoking in restaurants and bars, with some exceptions, in March 2009, making Virginia the first Southern state to do so.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2007, the Republican-controlled Virginia General Assembly passed legislation, with "overwhelming bipartisan support", to require girls to receive the HPV vaccine (which immunizes recipients against a virus that causes cervical cancer) before entering high school.<ref name="CraigOptOut">Tim Craig, Kaine Wants Stronger Opt-Out for HPV Vaccine, The Washington Post (February 28, 2007).</ref><ref name="TimCraigSign">Template:Cite news</ref> Kaine expressed "some qualms" about the legislation and pushed for a strong opt-out provision,<ref name="CraigOptOut"/> ultimately signing a bill that included a provision allowing parents to opt out of the requirement without citing a reason.<ref name="TimCraigSign"/>

In 2007, Kaine secured increases in state funding for nursing in the Virginia General Assembly 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.<ref>Jane Ford, Virginia Gov. Timothy Kaine Announces 10 Percent Increase in Nursing Faculty Salaries Template:Webarchive, UVA Today (University of Virginia) (February 28, 2007).</ref>

Virginia Tech shooting

After the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting, in which Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 people, Kaine appointed an eight-member Virginia Tech Review Panel,<ref name="VaTechReport">Mass Shootings at April 16, 2007: Report of the Review Panel Presented to Governor Kaine, Commonwealth of Virginia (August 2007).</ref> chaired by retired Virginia State Police superintendent W. Gerald Massengill, to probe the event.<ref name="CraigReviewSet">Tim Craig, Thorough Review Set Of Va. Tech, The Washington Post (May 2, 2007).</ref><ref>Transcript of Gov. Tim Kaine's Convocation remarks Template:Webarchive, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (April 17, 2007).</ref> The commission members included specialists in psychology, law, forensics and higher education as well as former Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge.<ref name="CraigReviewSet"/> The commission first met in May 2007,<ref name="CraigReviewSet"/> and issued its findings and recommendations in August 2007.<ref name="VaTechReport"/> Among other recommendations, the panel proposed many mental health 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."<ref>Kaine Announces Mental Health Changes Template:Webarchive, Associated Press (December 14, 2007).</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref name="alook">Template:Cite news</ref>

Budget and economy

Among Kaine's greatest challenges as governor came during the 2008 financial crisis; The Washington Post wrote that "perhaps his greatest success was keeping the state running despite [the crisis]."<ref name="alook"/> Amid the Great Recession, unemployment in Virginia remained lower than the national average.<ref name="SchoenCNBC">John W. Schoen, Possible Hillary VP pick Tim Kaine brings solid economic record, CNBC (July 22, 2016).</ref> 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.<ref name="SchoenCNBC" />

As governor, Kaine approved about $3.31 billion in general fund 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.<ref>Warren Fiske, Tim Kaine says he cut $5 billion in spending as governor, PolitiFact (October 24, 2012).</ref> 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."<ref name="alook"/> 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.<ref name="GeigerBest">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Virginia took first place each year from 2006 to 2009 in Forbes magazine's "Best States For Business" rankings.<ref name="GeigerBest" />

Infrastructure and transportation

File:Kaine Warner.png

Governor Kaine with U.S. senators John Warner and George Allen

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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Michael D. Shear & Rosalind S. Helderman, Va. Leaders Push Increase In Taxes, Fees To Aid Roads, The Washington Post (January 21, 2006): "Kaine ... and a bipartisan group of state senators offered competing proposals Friday to raise taxes and fees, with each plan generating close to $4 billion by 2010, to relieve the state's congested transportation network. ... Kaine is seeking higher taxes on auto insurance and the purchase of a car as well as stiffer fees for car registration and driving offenses. With nearly $1 billion more to spend each year, the new governor said, he can double the state's support for mass transit, increase highway construction by 90 percent and revive stalled road projects. The money would help build a connected network of carpool or express toll lanes on all of Northern Virginia's major highways, buy rail cars for Virginia Railway Express and Metro, widen Interstates 95 and 66, and fix traffic bottlenecks."</ref> 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 of the legislature was called over the stalemate.<ref name="ShearTrafficBudget">Michael D. Shear, Kaine Tries to Steer Support for Traffic Budget, The Washington Post (March 29, 2006).</ref><ref>Corey Dade, Kaine's Versatile Appeal Gives Him a Shot to Run With Obama, The Wall Street Journal (August 1, 2008).</ref><ref>Va. Gov. Kaine Calls Special Session to Address Transportation Funding, Insurance Journal (March 13, 2006).</ref>

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 fines and driver's licenses fees.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="ShearRoadsBill">Template:Cite news</ref>

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.<ref name="ShearRoadsBill"/><ref>Michael D. Shear, Kaine Warns Lawmakers About Transit Bill, The Washington Post (February 23, 2007).</ref> 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."<ref>Final Endorsement of Road Funding, Albeit With Tepid Praise and Regret, The Washington Post (April 5, 2007).</ref>

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.<ref name="MadsenECE">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Kaine sought increases to the budget for preschool programs every year during his term as governor.<ref name="MadsenECE"/> 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.<ref name="GeigerBest" />

Cabinet and appointments

Kaine made the following appointments to his Virginia Governor's Cabinet:<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Chief of Staff: William Leighty (2006–2007), Wayne Turnage (2007–2010)
Secretary of Administration: Viola Baskerville (2006–2010)
Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry: Robert Bloxom (2006–2010)
Secretary of Commerce and Trade: Patrick Gottschalk (2006–2010)
Secretary of the Commonwealth: Katherine Hanley (2006–2010)
Secretary of Education: Thomas R. Morris (2006–2010)
Secretary of Finance: Jody Wagner (2006–2008), Ric Brown (2008–2010)
Secretary of Health and Human Resources: Marilyn Tavenner (2006–2010)
Secretary of Natural Resources: Preston Bryant (2006–2010)
Secretary of Public Safety: John W. Marshall (2006–2010)
Secretary of Technology: Aneesh Chopra (2006–2009), Leonard Pomata (2009–2010)
Secretary of Transportation: Pierce Homer (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 appointmentsTemplate:Efn to the Supreme Court of Virginia,<ref name="Petska">Alicia Petska, Kaine: Plan to oust Va. Supreme Court appointee is worrisome, Roanoke Times (August 9, 2015)</ref> naming Chesapeake circuit judge S. Bernard Goodwyn to the Court in 2007<ref name="WalkerConfirm">Template:Cite news</ref> and Virginia Court of Appeals Judge LeRoy F. Millette Jr. in 2008.<ref name="MarkonSniperJudge">Jerry Markon, Sniper Judge Takes Seat on Virginia Supreme Court, The Washington Post (August 28, 2008).</ref>Template:Efn

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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He immediately requested and received Omeish's resignation and said that background checks would be more thorough in the future.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Democratic National Committee chair (2009–2011)

In the 2009 Democratic National Committee chairmanship election on January 21, 2009, Kaine was elected chair of the Democratic National Committee.<ref name="CSPAN 2009">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="NBC 2009">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>Template:Efn He had turned down the position the first time it was offered to him, expressing misgivings about accepting a partisan position,<ref name="SchwartzmanNiceGuy"/> but took the job at Obama's request.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He served as chair part-time while continuing to serve as governor of Virginia.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite news</ref> 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."<ref name="Caldwell">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).</ref> In the 2010 midterms, the DNC under Kaine's leadership outraised the Republican National Committee (RNC) by $30 million,<ref name="Caldwell"/> but Democrats lost control of the House and lost seats in the Senate amid the Tea Party backlash. Kaine was not generally blamed for the losses.<ref name="Caldwell"/>

Kaine kept a low profile in the position in comparison to his counterpart, RNC chairman Michael Steele.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2">Template:Cite news</ref> He focused more on fundraising and maintaining party unity than on attacking political opponents.<ref name=":2" />

In February 2011, after Kaine spoke to union leaders in Madison, 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 on Facebook and Twitter to build crowds for rallies.<ref name="anti-union">Template:Cite news</ref>

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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He said 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."<ref name="TalkGov">Template:Cite news</ref>

U.S. Senate (2013–present)

Elections

2012

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File:VA Annandale VA Labor Walk (8124858323).jpg

Tim Kaine and supporters, October 20, 2012

File:Tim Kaine, official 113th Congress photo portrait.jpg

Kaine's First Senate Portrait in 2013

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.<ref name="Convictions"/> Kaine named Lawrence Roberts as his campaign chairman.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Mike Henry was chosen as his campaign manager.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Kaine filmed announcement videos in English and Spanish<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>O'Brien, Michael (April 5, 2011) "Tim Kaine launches Virginia Senate bid", The Hill. Retrieved April 5, 2011.</ref> and was unopposed for the Democratic nomination.<ref>"Kaine hits the road to tout economic plan", The Washington Post. Retrieved April 5, 2012.</ref> He defeated former senator and governor George Allen in the general election.<ref name="2012 Races">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Convictions">Template:Cite news</ref>

2018

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File:Tim Kaine 116th official portrait.jpg

Kaine's Second Senate Portrait in 2019

After the 2016 election, Kaine said he would run for reelection to the Senate in 2018. He expressed his desire to emulate John Warner, who represented Virginia in the Senate for 30 years.<ref name="nolan">Template:Cite news</ref> He added that he would not run for president or vice president in the future.<ref name="nolan" />

In his 2018 Senate campaign against Republican nominee and Trump ally Corey Stewart, Kaine had the endorsement of The Richmond Times-Dispatch, marking the first time in decades the paper had endorsed a Democrat.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Kaine defeated Stewart by more than 15 points.<ref name="wtop2018">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

2024

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} On January 20, 2023, Kaine announced his candidacy for reelection in 2024 at a press conference in Richmond. Members of the Democratic Party were relieved by the news, as they believed his retirement would have made the race much more competitive.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Kaine defeated Republican Hung Cao in the general election.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Kaine made a surprise appearance on the November 2, 2024, episode of Saturday Night Live. Guest host John Mulaney portrayed a game show contestant who is tasked with naming people who walk on screen; he fails to give Kaine's name and is subsequently ridiculed.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Tenure

Kaine was sworn in on January 3, 2013, reuniting him with Mark Warner, 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

File:Tim Kaine 2016.jpg

Kaine speaking in 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 (ISIL).<ref name="jherb">Template:Cite news</ref> Kaine supported the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with Iran, though he also helped Republican senator Bob Corker hold a vote on a resolution of disapproval of the deal.<ref name="jherb"/> Kaine has taken several trips throughout the Middle East, meeting with the leaders of states such as Turkey and Israel.<ref name="jherb"/>

While in the Senate, Kaine has continued to teach part-time at the University of Richmond, receiving a salary of $16,000 per year.<ref>United States Senate Financial Disclosures: Annual Report for Calendar 2013 (Amendment 1): The Honorable Timothy M. Kaine (Kaine, Tim) (filed July 22, 2015).</ref>

Kaine has voted with his party more than 90% of the time.<ref name=voxpick>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> According to The Washington Post, Kaine has "crafted a largely progressive record as a senator."<ref name=GearanLiberals/> He reportedly has good relations with both Democratic and Republican senators.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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".<ref name="He">Alan He, Tim Kaine says Trump has "authoritarian tendencies", CBS News (February 7, 2017).</ref> In 2017, after Trump took office, Kaine continued to criticize his "authoritarian tendencies", citing his attacks on media, judges, and peaceful protesters.<ref name="He"/> 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."<ref>Niels Lesniewski, Tim Kaine on the Constitution's '230-Year Checkup' Template:Webarchive, Roll Call (February 14, 2017).</ref>

In February 2017, Kaine met with Pope Francis 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.<ref>Max Greenwood, Kaine discusses refugee crisis with Pope Francis during Vatican visit, The Hill (February 22, 2017).</ref><ref name="WTKR">Sen. Tim Kaine meets Pope Francis in Vatican City, WTKR (February 23, 2017).</ref> The same month, Kaine delivered an address, "The Truman Doctrine at 70", at London's Chatham House.<ref name="WTKR"/><ref>The Truman Doctrine at 70 Template:Webarchive, Royal Institute of International Affairs (February 24, 2017).</ref>

Committee assignments

Caucuses

In January 2014, Kaine and Senator Rob Portman established the bipartisan Senate Career and Technical Education Caucus (CTE Caucus), which focuses on vocational education and technical education.<ref>Kaine, Portman Announce Career & Technical Education Caucus (press release), Office of U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (January 30, 2014).</ref> Kaine and Portman co-chair the caucus.<ref>Policy and Advocacy: House/Senate CTE Caucus (accessed July 22, 2016).</ref><ref name="HerbPartyLine">Jeremy Herb, Kaine on the issues: Not always taking the party line, Politico (July 23, 2016).</ref> 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 schools to further CTE programs.<ref name="NolanCTE">Jim Nolan, Kaine to introduce legislation on high school career and technical education, Richmond Times-Dispatch (March 16, 2016).</ref> The legislation, introduced as an amendment to the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006, would promote apprenticeships and similar initiatives.<ref name="NolanCTE" /> Kaine and Portman introduced similar legislation, the Educating Tomorrow's Workforce Act, in 2017.<ref>Kaine continues career, technical education push with new bill, Augusta Free Press (March 15, 2017).</ref>

Vice presidential candidacy

2008 speculation

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} Template:See also 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}Template:Cbignore</ref> Because Kaine was a relatively popular governor of a Southern state, there was media speculation that he was a potential nominee for vice president.<ref name="APVeepstakes08">Template:Cite news</ref> 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."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On July 28, 2008, Politico reported that Kaine was "very, very high" on Obama's shortlist for vice president,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> a list that also included Senator Hillary Clinton of New York, Governor Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas, Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana, and Senator Joe Biden of Delaware.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Obama ultimately selected Biden.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> It was later reported that Obama told Kaine, in breaking the news to him, "You are the pick of my heart, but Joe [Biden] is the pick of my head".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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",<ref name="ObamaPLp162">Template:Cite book</ref> but Obama and his advisers David Axelrod and David Plouffe 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.<ref name="ObamaPLpp164-5">Template:Cite book</ref>

2016 campaign

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File:Clinton Kaine.svg

Clinton/Kaine logo

File:Tim Kaine at Clinton Kaine rally Aug 2016 1.jpg

Kaine at a rally in Manchester, New Hampshire, August 2016.

File:Tim Kaine by Gage Skidmore.jpg

Kaine speaking at a campaign event in Phoenix, Arizona in November 2016.

Kaine endorsed Hillary Clinton 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 her, 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 and Julian Castro.<ref name="politico.com">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="jzeleny">Template:Cite news</ref>

The New York Times reported that Clinton's husband, former president Bill Clinton, supported Kaine as his wife's vice-presidential selection, noting his domestic and national security résumé.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On July 22, 2016, she announced Kaine would be her running mate in the election.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Clinton introduced Kaine as her choice in a joint appearance at a rally at Florida International University in Miami the next day.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The 2016 Democratic National Convention nominated him for vice president on July 27, 2016.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Kaine was the first Virginian since Woodrow Wilson to be on a major-party ticket,<ref>Ben Geier, Tim Kaine Finally Brings Glory to Old Virginia as Clinton's VP Pick, Fortune (July 22, 2016).</ref> and 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.<ref name="rtd">Template:Cite news</ref>

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.<ref>Presidential Tax Returns, Tax History Project, Tax Analysts (accessed September 14, 2016).</ref><ref name="EderBennett">Steve Eder & Kitty Bennett, Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine Show New Tax Returns, Pressuring Donald Trump, The New York Times (August 12, 2016).</ref> He also publicly released medical records; his physician, Brian P. Monahan, the Attending Physician of the United States Congress, wrote that Kaine was "in overall excellent health."<ref>Burgess Everett, Kaine releases health records, Politico (September 14, 2016).</ref><ref>Hillary Clinton, Tim Kaine release additional medical information while Donald Trump defies decades-old tradition of disclosure Template:Webarchive, Hillary for America (September 14, 2016).</ref> In September Kaine published a campaign book co-authored with Clinton, Stronger Together.<ref name = daily>Template:Cite news</ref>

In Kaine's preparations for the vice-presidential debate in October 2016, lawyer Robert Barnett played the role of Republican nominee Mike Pence.<ref>Annie Karni, Exclusive: Robert Barnett to play Mike Pence in Tim Kaine debate prep, Politico (September 17, 2016).</ref> (During Pence's own debate preparations, Wisconsin governor Scott Walker played Kaine.)<ref>Mike Allen, Exclusive: Here's who's playing Tim Kaine in GOP debate prep, Politico (September 17, 2016).</ref> Pence was criticized after the debate for not defending Trump's comments,<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> while Kaine was criticized for being too aggressive and interrupting.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> According to ABC News, Kaine interrupted 70 times during the debate, while Pence interrupted 40 times.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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.<ref>Jugal K. Patel & Wilson Andrews, Trump's Electoral College Victory Ranks 46th in 58 Elections, The New York Times (December 18, 2016).</ref> This is the only election Kaine has ever lost. Clinton-Kaine narrowly won Virginia, the only Southern state to vote for the Democratic ticket, a victory attributed in part to Kaine.<ref name="PortnoyPenceReturns">Jenna Portnoy, Tim Kaine returns to the Senate, seemingly untarnished by devastating loss, The Washington Post (November 9, 2016).</ref>

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).<ref name="538Splashy">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> FiveThirtyEight characterizes him as a "mainstream Democrat" and notes that his ideology score is very similar to that of Joe Biden.<ref name="538Splashy" /> Three conservative groups—the American Conservative Union, the Club for Growth, and Heritage Action—gave Kaine 0% ratings in the few years before 2016,<ref name="GearanLiberals">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> while the liberal group Americans for Democratic Action gave Kaine a 90% rating in 2014.<ref>2014 Congressional Voting Record Template:Webarchive, ADA Today (Americans for Democratic Action).</ref> 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."<ref name="StolbergSharpElbows"/>

Abortion, birth control, and sex education

Kaine, a Roman Catholic, personally opposes abortion,<ref name="KilforeAbortion">Ed Kilgore, Tim Kaine and the Evolution of Pro-Choice Politics, New York (June 23, 2016).</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> but is "largely inclined to keep the law out of women's reproductive decisions."<ref name="KilforeAbortion"/> He has said, "I'm a strong supporter of Roe v. Wade 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."<ref>Manu Raju, Tim Kaine: 'I'm a strong supporter of Roe v. Wade', CNN (July 15, 2016).</ref> 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.<ref name=radar>Template:Cite news</ref>

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.<ref name=chooselife>Template:Cite news</ref> Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice America expressed disappointment in Kaine's decision.<ref name=chooselife /> 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."<ref name=chooselife />

Kaine previously criticized the Obama administration for "not providing a 'broad enough religious employer exemptionTemplate:'" in the contraceptive mandate of the Affordable Care Act, but praised a 2012 amendment to the regulations that required insurers to provide birth control to employees when an employer was an objecting religious organization.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

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."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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.<ref name="CraigSexEd">Tim Craig, Abstinence-Only Sex-Ed Funds Cut Off by Kaine, The Washington Post (November 13, 2007).</ref> Kaine believes that both abstinence and contraceptives must be taught, and that education should be evidence-based.<ref name="CraigSexEd"/>

As a senator, Kaine has received perfect scores from Planned Parenthood and the abortion-rights advocacy group NARAL.<ref name=voxpick /><ref name=votesmart>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He has received a score of zero from the anti-abortion National Right to Life Committee.<ref name=votesmart />

Campaign finance

Kaine "strongly disagrees" with Citizens United v. FEC (2010).<ref name="Disclose">Template:Cite press release</ref> In 2015, Kaine joined a group of Senate Democrats in a letter to Securities and Exchange Commission 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 to disclose political spending to their shareholders to "increase transparency in the U.S. political process".<ref name="Disclose" />

Capital punishment

Kaine personally opposes capital punishment, but presided over 11 executions while governor.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He said, "I really struggled with [capital punishment] as 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."<ref name="Convictions" /> During his time in office he commuted one death sentence in June 2008, that of Percy Levar Walton, to life imprisonment without parole 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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."<ref name="SomashekharExpansion">Sandhya Somashekhar, Kaine Vetoes Death Penalty Expansion, The Washington Post (March 27, 2007).</ref><ref>Harry Minium, Kaine vetoes five bills that would expand death penalty Template:Webarchive, Virginian-Pilot (March 27, 2007).</ref> Some of the vetoes were overridden.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>Template:Efn

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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Environment, energy, and climate change

Kaine acknowledges the scientific consensus on climate change, and in a 2014 Senate speech criticized climate change deniers, 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.<ref name="KaineClimateChange">Kaine: Solution To Climate Change Is American Innovation, Office of Senator Tim Kaine (March 11, 2014).</ref>

Kaine has expressed concern about sea level rise (a major consequence of climate change),<ref name="HerbPartyLine" /> and in particular its effect on coastal Virginia.<ref name="KaineClimateChange" /> 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 area."<ref name="HerbPartyLine" />

Kaine endorses making coal energy production cleaner, saying that it is imperative "to convert coal to electricity with less pollution than we do today."<ref name="KaineClimateChange" /> 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."<ref name="KaineClimateChange" /> Kaine co-sponsored the Advanced Clean Coal Technology Investment in Our Nation (ACCTION) Act, legislation to increase investment in clean coal technologies.<ref name="KaineEnergy">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He voted against legislation to approve the Keystone XL pipeline.<ref name="KaineEnergy"/> Kaine supports the use of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) to harvest natural gas from shale formations. He believes this will reduce carbon pollution.<ref name="KaineEnergy" /> Kaine voted against an amendment introduced by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand that would have repealed a provision in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 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.<ref name="EnergyWire2015">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="NatEnvScore">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Kaine supports exporting liquefied natural gas (LNG) to other countries.<ref name="KaineExportLNG">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Like his fellow senator from Virginia, Mark Warner, Kaine applauded the U.S. Forest Service's plan to close most, but not all, of the George Washington National Forest to fracking and other horizontal drilling activities.<ref name="RoanokePark2014">Template:Cite news</ref>

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."<ref name="KaineEnergy"/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In April 2015, Kaine reiterated his opposition to the moratorium on offshore drilling.<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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."<ref name=":0" /> 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.<ref name=":0" />

Kaine supports the development of solar energy and offshore wind turbines.<ref name="KaineEnergy" /> 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.<ref name="NatEnvScore" /> (At the time of his vice-presidential campaign, Kaine had an 88% score for 2015, and a 91% lifetime score.)<ref name="HerbPartyLine" />

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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Financial regulation

Kaine strongly supports financial regulation and the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.<ref name="GearanLiberals" /> In July 2016, he signed a bipartisan letter that "urged the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to 'carefully tailor its rulemaking' [under Dodd-Frank] regarding community banks and credit unions so as not to 'unduly burden' these institutions with regulations aimed at commercial banks."<ref name="GearanLiberals" /> The letter prompted criticism from progressives who viewed it as anti-regulation.<ref name="GearanLiberals" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Democracy for America 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."<ref name="GearanLiberals" /> He also signed a letter urging that a requirement that regional banks report liquidity levels on a daily basis be loosened.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Foreign and defense policy

In the Senate, Kaine has supported the normalization of U.S.–Cuban relations and the international nuclear agreement with Iran.<ref name="KaineClintonComparison">Template:Cite news</ref>

Kaine expressed support for Israel's right to defend itself during the 2014 Gaza War.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In September 2016, in advance of a UN Security Council resolution 2334 condemning Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, he signed an AIPAC-sponsored letter urging Obama to veto "one-sided" resolutions against Israel.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

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,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> but in 2018, he was one of seven senators to sign a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref>Andrew Desiderio, Sen. Kaine: Trump approved nuclear tech transfer to Saudis after Khashoggi's murder, Politico (June 4, 2019).</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In July 2017, Kaine voted for the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act that placed sanctions on Iran, Russia, and North Korea.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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 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. 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

File:Secretary Blinken Attends a Working Breakfast (52138628554).jpg

Kaine with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Nancy Pelosi on June 10, 2022

In 2019, Kaine co-sponsored the South China Sea and East China Sea Sanctions Act, a bipartisan bill reintroduced by Marco Rubio 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2023, Kaine and Rubio co-sponsored a provision in the annual National Defense Authorization Act that a U.S. president cannot withdraw the U.S. from NATO without Congress's approval.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

On December 30, 2023, Kaine criticized Biden's emergency sale of weapons to Israel during the Gaza war, stating, "Why should the Admin bypass Congress on arms sales to any nation? Bypassing Congress = keeping the American public in the dark."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Some of Biden's closest allies in the Senate, including Kaine, were reportedly pressuring Biden to change his tactics in Gaza.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 2024, Kaine expressed his support for an independent Palestine, saying, "Since Israel has made plain that it will not accept Palestinian autonomy, the U.S. should no longer condition recognition on Israeli assent, but instead upon Palestinian willingness to peacefully coexist with its neighbors."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In November 2024, Kaine was one of 19 senators to vote to block the United States' arms sales to Israel.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Grand strategy and democracy promotion

After the 2016 presidential campaign, Kaine wrote an extensive essay in Foreign Affairs outlining his underlying foreign policy philosophy.<ref name=":3">Template:Cite journal</ref> According to Kaine, American foreign policy has suffered a lack of direction since the 1990s because the end of the Cold War rendered irrelevant America's previous grand strategy, 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 Russia and China, 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> To maintain democracy in democratic countries, Kaine proposes the creation of an intergovernmental organization 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 records.<ref name=":3" />

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 with international relations scholar Robert Kagan.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

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."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Latin America

Kaine believes that American foreign policy has neglected relations with Latin America and argues for an increased focus on the Americas, 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."<ref name=":3" />

War powers

Kaine is known for "expertise on the constitutional powers of the presidency"<ref name="PortnoyPenceReturns"/> and has said that "war powers questions" are a "personal obsession" of his.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news republishing post of October 14, 2014.</ref> He has stressed that under the Constitution, "Congress has the power to declare war—and only Congress."<ref name="Matishak">Martin Matishak, Kaine: Trump not a 'king,' can't go to war without Congress, Politico (April 15, 2018).</ref> Kaine called the 2018 U.S. missile strikes Trump ordered against the Syrian government illegal because they were undertaken without congressional approval.<ref name="Matishak"/>

Kaine and Senator John McCain introduced the War Powers Consultation Act of 2014,<ref name="5QuestionsWarPowers">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> which would replace the War Powers Act of 1973, bringing Congress back into decisions on the deployment of U.S. military forces.<ref name="5QuestionsWarPowers" /> 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.<ref name="5QuestionsWarPowers" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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."<ref name="5QuestionsWarPowers" />

In February 2018, Kaine was one of 18 senators to sign a letter to Trump arguing that striking North Korea with "a preventative or preemptive U.S. military strike would lack either a constitutional basis or legal authority" without congressional approval.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The next month, the Iran War Powers Resolution passed the Senate 55–45, securing the votes of eight Republicans along with the Democrats.<ref>Rachel Oswald, Senate passes resolution that would limit Trump's war powers on Iran, Roll Call (February 13, 2020).</ref> Trump vetoed the measure,<ref>Nikki Carvajal, Trump vetoes Iran War Powers resolution, CNN (May 6, 2020).</ref> and the Senate failed to override the veto.<ref>Connor O'Brien, Senate fails to overturn Trump's Iran war powers veto, Politico (May 7, 2020).</ref>

Syria, Iraq, and ISIL

In 2014, Kaine argued that the U.S. military intervention against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) undertaken by Obama was unconstitutional without a new congressional authorization for the use of military force against ISIL.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> After the April 2017 Shayrat missile strike in Syria, ordered by Trump, Kaine said, "There is no legal justification for this. He should not have done this without coming to Congress."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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."<ref>Colin Wilhelm, Kaine: Trump should have asked Congress to authorize Syria airstrikes, Politico (April 9, 2017).</ref>

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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

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".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In February 2021, Kaine demanded answers from President Biden after he ordered airstrikes on Syria against Iran-backed militias without giving "legal justification" to members of Congress beforehand.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 2023, Kaine and Todd Young co-sponsored legislation to end 1991 and 2002 congressional resolutions that authorized the use of military force.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The bill repealed the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) in Iraq and passed with a bipartisan majority.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Firearms

Kaine is a firearm owner.<ref name="KaineClintonComparison" /> He has supported expanded background checks for weapons purchases as well as "restrictions on the sale of combat-style weapons and high-capacity magazines."<ref name="KaineClintonComparison" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> As governor, Kaine oversaw the closing of loopholes in Virginia law that allowed some who had failed background checks to purchase guns.<ref name="KaineClintonComparison" /> In the Senate, he has supported legislation that would require background checks for weapons sold via gun shows and via the internet.<ref name="KaineClintonComparison" /> He also supports legislation to bar weapons sales to suspected terrorists on the No Fly List.<ref name="KaineClintonComparison" />

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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Kaine has a 100% rating from the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence<ref name="LimaWhite">Template:Cite news</ref> and an "F" rating from the NRA Political Victory Fund.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

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."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref>Seung Min Kim, Kaine: Let's have Obamacare debate – but not now, Politico (September 29, 2013).</ref>

In 2018, Kaine and Senator Michael Bennet proposed the creation of "Medicare X"—a public health insurance option modeled after Medicare that would be available on ACA health insurance marketplaces along with private options. The proposal is a more incrementalist alternative to Bernie Sanders's push for "Medicare for All" (single-payer health care).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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."<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In February 2019, Kaine was one of 11 senators to sign a letter to insulin manufacturers Eli Lilly and Company, Novo Nordisk, and Sanofi about increased insulin prices and charging that the price increases caused patients to lack "access to the life-saving medications they need."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2022, Kaine voted for the Inflation Reduction Act, which would cap the price of insulin and allow Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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."<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Immigration

Kaine supports the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Deferred Action for Parental Accountability (DAPA) programs,<ref>Jessica Weiss, Tim Kaine, fluent Spanish speaker, is Clinton's VP pick, Univision News (July 22, 2016).</ref> which allow up to five million undocumented immigrants to gain deferral of deportation and authorization to legally work in the United States.<ref name="KaineClintonComparison" /> 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 case United States v. Texas.<ref>Stephen Igo, Warner, Kaine support Obama's immigration actions, Kingsport Times-News (December 4, 2015).</ref><ref>Warner, Kaine Join Supreme Court Amicus Brief Demonstrating Congressional Support For Immigration Executive Actions (press release), Office of U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (March 8, 2016).</ref>

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.<ref name="KaineClintonComparison" />

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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

LGBTQ+ rights

In 2006, Kaine campaigned against an amendment to the Virginia State Constitution to ban same-sex marriage,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and in March 2013, he announced his support of same-sex marriage.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In the Senate, Kaine co-sponsored the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would bar employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.<ref>Kaine Statement on Final Passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (press release), Office of Senator Tim Kaine (November 7, 2013).</ref>

In 2005, Kaine said, "No couples in Virginia can adopt other than a married couple. That's the right policy."<ref name=Adoption>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2011, he shifted his position.<ref name=Couples>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2012, he said, "there should be a license that would entitle a committed couple to the same rights as a married couple."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

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 would someday adopt his view.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In October 2018, Kaine was one of 20 senators to sign a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo 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."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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 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 that the United States is abandoning the advancement of LGBTI rights as a foreign policy priority."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2022, Kaine voted for the Respect for Marriage Act.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Taxes

Kaine supports allowing the Bush tax cuts to expire for those with incomes above $500,000.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

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) program."<ref name="positions">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In the Senate, Kaine has supported the Marketplace Fairness Act, which would allow states to require online retailers to collect sales taxes in the same manner as traditional brick-and-mortar retailers.<ref>David Ress, Roanoke leaders talk to Kaine about online sales tax, Postal Service, Roanoke Times (May 2, 2013).</ref><ref>Jacob Geiger, Legislation on Internet sales tax is big for Va.: Bill in U.S. Senate could produce $168M for roads projects here, Richmond Times-Dispatch (April 29, 2013).</ref><ref>Aaron Martin, Tim Kaine frustrated by stalled internet sales tax bill, WSLS (July 29, 2013).</ref>

Trade

Kaine supported granting Obama Trade Promotion Authority (TPA or "fast track") to allow him to negotiate free trade agreements.<ref name="KaineMay2015">Tim Kaine, Virginia Is a Global Gateway, Richmond Times-Dispatch (May 16, 2015).</ref> 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."<ref name="KaineMay2015"/>

In July 2016, Kaine said the Trans-Pacific Partnership (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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Later that July, Kaine said that he could not support the TPP in its current form.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Kaine has been a proponent of NAFTA.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2025, Kaine introduced several resolutions to end the national emergencies Trump had declared to justify sweeping global tariffs. Kaine and Mark Warner introduced a resolution to end Trump's national emergency on energy, but it was defeated by the Senate's Republican majority.<ref name="Martin-2025">Template:Cite news</ref> A resolution to end the emergency justifying American tariffs on Canada narrowly passed the Senate, but was blocked by the House.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Transportation, growth, and housing

Kaine supports some smart growth-style policies (which he calls "a balanced approach to growth") to control sprawl and improve transportation.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He favors a transportation policy that includes public transit, bicycles, and pedestrians.<ref name=citylab>Template:Cite news</ref> As governor, Kaine pushed through a $100 million open-space acquisition initiative.<ref name=citylab /> Under Kaine, Amtrak service in Virginia was expanded.<ref name="BacqueHSR">Peter Bacque, "High-speed rail line would include various stops in Va.," Richmond Times-Dispatch (June 4, 2009).</ref><ref>Sarah Krouse, Amtrak to provide commuter service to Richmond, Lynchburg, Washington Business Journal (June 5, 2009).</ref><ref>Yonah Freemark, A Bipartisan Push for Rail in Virginia Produces Ridership Successes, The Transport Politic (June 18, 2012).</ref> He also participated in a White House round-table discussion on high-speed rail in 2009.<ref name="BacqueHSR"/>

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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Workers' rights and gender equality

Kaine is "generally pro-union" and has received a 96% lifetime Senate voting rating from the AFL–CIO,<ref name="HerbPartyLine" /> which praised his selection as Clinton's running mate.<ref name="SchleiferLimPraise">Template:Cite news</ref> 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".<ref name="HerbPartyLine" />

Kaine supports the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which expands the cases in which worker can sue against gender pay discrimination.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> After Clinton selected him as her running mate in 2016, Kaine was praised by the National Organization for Women.<ref name="SchleiferLimPraise" /><ref>Alex Seitz-Wald, Hillary Clinton Opts for Experience Over Exhilaration in Tim Kaine Pick, NBC News (July 22, 2016).</ref>

Kaine favors an increase in the minimum wage.<ref name="HerbPartyLine" />

Personal life

File:Tim Kaine and Anne Holton 2012dncconvention-190 (8049827332) (cropped).jpg

Kaine with his wife Anne at the 2012 Democratic National Convention

In November 1984, Kaine married Anne Bright Holton, the daughter of A. Linwood Holton Jr., the 61st governor of Virginia.<ref name="WeddingAnnouncement"/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The couple met while they were students at Harvard Law School.<ref name="Burton10"/> Holton has been a judge for the Virginia Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court in Richmond.<ref name=vozella /> After serving as first lady of Virginia during her husband's term, she was appointed by Governor Terry McAuliffe in 2014 to be Virginia's secretary of education,<ref name=vozella>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and held that position until July 2016, when she stepped down after her husband was nominated for vice president.<ref>Moriah Balingit, Anne Holton, wife of Clinton's running mate, resigns as Va.'s education secretary, The Washington Post (July 26, 2016).</ref> The couple has three children, one of whom is a U.S. Marine.<ref name="NGABio" /><ref name="timeline"/><ref name="SudermanSelfAssured">Alan Suderman, Self-assured, Kaine brings a steady hand to Clinton ticket Template:Webarchive, Associated Press (July 22, 2016).</ref> As of 2016, Kaine and his wife had been congregants of St. Elizabeth Catholic Church in Richmond, a mostly black congregation, for 30 years.<ref name="SudermanSelfAssured"/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Kaine plays the harmonica<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and often travels with several.<ref name="StolbergSharpElbows"/>

Kaine is fluent in Spanish as a result of his nine months in Honduras.<ref name="KaineSpanish"/> During the 2016 campaign, he became the first member of a presidential ticket to deliver a speech in Spanish.<ref name="PortnoyPenceReturns"/>

On May 28, 2020, Kaine announced that he and his wife had tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In March 2022, it was reported that he has long COVID symptoms.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Citation</ref>

On April 9, 2024, Kaine's book, Walk Ride Paddle: A Life Outside was published. In it, he chronicles hiking the 559 miles of the Appalachian Trail in Virginia, biking the 321-mile length of the Blue Ridge Parkway and kayaking the James River from the Allegheny Mountains to the Chesapeake Bay. He began these years-long treks in 2019 and did them during weekends and Senate recesses.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

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".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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."<ref name="StolbergSharpElbows"/> On Meet the Press, Kaine called himself "boring."<ref name="StolbergSharpElbows"/><ref>Transcript, Meet the Press, NBC News (June 26, 2016).</ref>

Awards and honors

Kaine has received the Humanitarian Award from the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities, then the Virginia Region of the National Conference for Community and Justice (2000),<ref>Richmond Past Honorees Template:Webarchive (website), Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities (Retrieved July 23, 2016).</ref> the Virginia Council of Churches' Faith in Action Award (2009),<ref>Virginia Council of Churches honors Gov. Tim Kaine and Bishop Peter James Lee, The Progress-Index (May 23, 2009).</ref> the University of Richmond School of Law's William Green Award for Professional Excellence (2012),<ref>Green Award honors Anne Holton and Tim Kaine, University of Richmond School of Law (March 1, 2012).</ref> the Award for Public Service in the Americas from the Inter-American Dialogue (2014),<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> the Appalachian Trail Conservancy's Congressional Award (2015),<ref>Senators Kelly Ayotte and Tim Kaine Receive Appalachian Trail Conservancy Congressional Award Template:Webarchive, Appalachian Trail Conservancy (2015).</ref> and the Center for the National Interest's Distinguished Service Award (2016).<ref>2016 Distinguished Service Award Dinner Honoring Senators Tim Kaine and Pat Roberts, Center for the National Interest (May 23, 2016).</ref> He was made a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic in 2017.<ref>Royal Decree 502/2017, 12 may, Spanish Official Journal (May 13, 2017) Template:In lang.</ref> He received the Shipbuilders Council of America (SCA) Maritime Leadership Award in 2024.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Electoral history

2001 lieutenant gubernatorial election
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2005 gubernatorial election
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2012 U.S. Senate election
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2016 vice presidential election
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2018 U.S. Senate election
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2024 U.S. Senate election
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Notes

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References

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External links

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Tim Kaine

Early life and education

Legal career and Richmond City Council

Mayor of Richmond (1998–2001)

Lieutenant governor of Virginia (2002–2006)

Governor of Virginia (2006–2010)

Election

Tenure

Democratic response to State of the Union address

Energy, the environment, and conservation

Healthcare and public health

Virginia Tech shooting

Budget and economy

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Education

Cabinet and appointments

Democratic National Committee chair (2009–2011)

U.S. Senate (2013–present)

Elections

2012

2018

2024

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Caucuses

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2008 speculation

2016 campaign

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Abortion, birth control, and sex education

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Health care

Immigration

LGBTQ+ rights

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Workers' rights and gender equality

Personal life

Personality and leadership style

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Notes

References

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