Government | Politics 2023: TIM KAINE

A Democratic leader who has served as Richmond’s mayor and Virginia’s lieutenant governor and governor, Kaine has been the state’s junior U.S. senator since 2013 and is running for a third term in 2024. He came to national prominence in 2016 as Hillary Clinton’s running mate in her unsuccessful presidential campaign.

Kaine grew up in Kansas City and graduated from the University of Missouri, and moved to Richmond after meeting his future wife, Anne Holton, at Harvard Law School in the 1980s. He started his political career in 1994 with a Richmond City Council run.

As governor, Kaine dealt with the aftermath of the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting that claimed 32 lives, as well as the 2008 Great Recession, which saw a 7.4% unemployment peak.

As a senator, Kaine started the bipartisan Senate Career and Technical Education Caucus in 2014, and he is assigned to the Senate’s budget, armed services and foreign relations committees. A Catholic, Kaine has said he is personally against abortion but has voted to support women’s reproductive rights.

FIRST JOB: Baseball coach at the Johnson County YMCA

NEW LIFE EXPERIENCE: Playing harmonica with Willie Nelson’s band on the 2022 Outlaws Tour