Looking to ensure Florida remains in the Democratic column come November, Hillary Clinton is sending her running mate to campaign in the Sunshine State later this week.
On Monday, the Clinton team announced that Tim Kaine, the Virginia Democrat who served as governor before being elected to the U.S. Senate, will campaign in Florida on Friday and Saturday focusing on small business issues and trying to get the vote out. He’ll also be showcasing Clinton’s economic plan.
Kaine will hit Tallahassee on Friday for a voter registration drive. On Saturday, Kaine is scheduled to hit South Florida where he will meet local officials in Pembroke Pines before
touring small businesses in the region.
The Virginia Democrat had been on Barack Obama’s shortlist to be his vice presidential candidate in 2008 but he lost out to Joe Biden.
An attorney who attended Harvard Law, Kaine has been rising up the ranks in Virginia for more than two decades. First elected to the Richmond City Council in 1994, Kaine moved up to become mayor in 1998 before seeking statewide office in 2002 when he was elected lieutenant governor under current Senate colleague Mark Warner who had also garnered buzz earlier this election cycle as a possible running mate for Clinton.
In a closely watched contest in 2005, Kaine was elected governor of Virginia beating then state Attorney General Jerry Kilgore. Kaine moved up the national ladder as well, becoming chairman of the Democratic National Committee which he led from 2009-2011. In 2012, Kaine won an open Senate seat, fending off Republican George Allen who had held that seat before losing in 2006.
While Virginia is a swing state, it has gone blue in recent elections. Obama carried the Old Dominion in 2008 and 2012. Clinton and her team hope Kaine will help her in Virginia. Polls show Clinton ahead of Donald Trump in Virginia.
Clinton and Kaine campaigned in Florida after she named him to the ticket last month.
