Clinton picks Kaine as her running mate

Hillary Clinton announced Friday evening she has picked U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine to be her vice presidential running mate.

Kaine, who was elected to the Senate in 2012, is expected to benefit Clinton’s campaign with his low-key campaigning style, honest reputation and fluency in Spanish. When he was a student at Harvard Law School, he took a year off to attend a Catholic mission in the Honduras.

He also hails from Virginia, which has become a key battleground state in presidential contests.

Kaine started his political career as a Richmond City councilman. He later served as mayor of Richmond, lieutenant governor of Virginia and was governor of Virginia from 2006 until 2010.

Kaine was chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 2009 until 2011, giving him national exposure.

He defeated George Allen, a former Virginia governor and a former U.S. senator, for Kaine’s current Senate seat in 2012.

Kaine, an early supporter of Barack Obama’s presidential bid, was vetted by Obama as a potential running mate before he picked Vice President Joe Biden.

Virginia Business has covered Kaine throughout his political career, including a Q&A interview with him last year.

Here’s some other coverage of Kaine over the years:

·      In a 2015 opinion column Editor Robert Powell reflects on the possibility that Kaine could become vice president (and who could fill his Senate seat);

·      Special Projects Editor Veronica Garabelli attended an April 2015 roundtable with Kaine on the potential benefits of the Trans-Pacific Partnership for Virginia businesses; 

·      Powell’s 2014 column focuses on an entrepreneurship roundtable Kaine attended;

Virginia Business interviews the governor of Virginia each year. Here are just some of the stories we published during Kaine's governorship:

·      January 2009 interview with Kaine, where he talks about budget cuts and reflections on his future;

·      A story in our January 2009 issue included comments from Kaine about the historic shift in Virginia’s voting pattern following Obama’s election.

·      2008 interview with Kaine:

·      A 2007 interview with Kaine, a year after he took office:

·      The 2006 cover story took a look as Kaine started his governorship.