Clinton taps Kaine for VP

Presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton has chosen U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., as her vice presidential running mate.

Clinton will officially introduce Kaine at a Florida rally on Saturday, but she made the announcement to supporters Friday night via text: “I’m thrilled to tell you this first: I’ve chosen Sen. Tim Kaine as my running mate.”

Clinton, already struggling to excite the liberal base of the party, is unlikely to get an enthusiasm boost from Kaine, but the freshman senator checks numerous important boxes for the ticket. Kaine, who speaks Spanish, is the former governor of Virginia, an important swing state, and a former Democratic National Committee chairman.

Kaine earned the backing of former President Bill Clinton earlier this week, according to The New York Times. Clinton believes Kaine’s résumé and membership on the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees gives him the right mix of domestic and national security experience.

Per multiple reports, President Barack Obama, who considered Kaine as his running mate in 2008, also supports Hillary Clinton’s pick.

Kaine, a Harvard Law School graduate, began his political career as a Richmond, Va., city councilman, before becoming the city’s mayor in 1998. He won election as the state’s lieutenant governor in 2002 and served as governor from 2006 to 2010. In 2012, Kaine defeated former Virginia Gov. George Allen, a Republican, to earn his Senate seat.

If Clinton wins in November, her long-time ally Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe will appoint a temporary replacement for Kaine in the Senate, who would serve until a special election could be held next year—the same time the state will select its next governor. An election for a full six-year term will occur in 2018.

One group that is unhappy with Kaine: liberals. Clinton spent much of her campaign running to the left—toward her chief rival, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.—and many base voters hoped she would select a liberal champion, such as Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.

Charles Chamberlain, executive director of Democracy for America, a liberal political action committee, told The New York Times Kaine “could be disastrous for our efforts to defeat Donald Trump in the fall.”

Although Kaine boasts traditional liberal credentials on issues such as gun control, progressive groups blasted him for saying regulations on big banks should be loosened.

Kaine has been a strong advocate for immigration reform, including the bipartisan bill the U.S. Senate approved in 2013. Latino advocacy groups praised Clinton’s decision.

“She has chosen a running mate that has a track record of advocating and fighting for the issues that affect the Latino community and our nation,” Ben Monterroso, executive director of Mi Familia Vota, said in a statement. “We are ready to make our voices heard through our votes.”

Kaine, a Catholic, learned Spanish while on a one-year mission trip to Honduras in 1980 and 1981. He has been married since 1984 and has three children.

At age 58, Kaine is young enough to possibly launch his own presidential bids in 2020 or 2024.

Candidates who did not make the Clinton cut include Julián Castro, secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development; Tom Vilsack, secretary of the Agriculture Department; Thomas Perez, secretary of the Labor Department; Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J.; and Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper.