- .Kaine, 58, was the favorite for the position given his long resume, fluency in Spanish
- .Was announced just days before beginning of the Democratic convention
- .The politician said he was 'honored to be her running mate'
- .He is a member of the Senate's esteemed Foreign Relations and Armed Services committees
- .Clinton has rally in Miami tomorrow that Kaine will attend; she's on a two-day campaign drive in the crucial swing state
Hillary Clinton has tapped Tim Kaine to be her running mate.
The Democratic candidate for president announced the news in a text message to her supporters.
'I'm thrilled to tell you this first: I've chosen Sen. Tim Kaine as my running mate. Welcome him to our team.'
She sent out a similar messages several minutes later that described the Virginia legislator as 'a man who's devoted his life to fighting for others.’
The messages were marked with an ‘H’ – the Clinton campaign’s way of saying the candidate wrote them herself.
She said in a follow-up tweet that Kaine ‘is a relentless optimist who believes no problem is unsolvable if you put in the work to solve it.'
Kaine then confirmed the news on Twitter. He wrote: 'Just got off the phone with Hillary. I’m honored to be her running mate. Can’t wait to hit the trail tomorrow in Miami!'
The usually quick-on-the trigger Donald Trump took nearly two hours to release a statement tearing into his new opponent.
When he finally did, Trump said, 'It's only fitting that Hillary Clinton would select an ethically challenged insider like Tim Kaine who's personally benefited from the rigged system.'
'If you think Crooked Hillary and Corrupt Kaine are going to change anything in Washington, it's just the opposite,' he proclaimed.
Hillary Clinton has chosen Virginia Senator Tim Kaine to be her running mate. The Democratic candidate for president announced the news in a text message to her supporters
'I'm thrilled to tell you this first: I've chosen Sen. Tim Kaine as my running mate. Welcome him to our team,' she said in a text that preceded the announcment on Twitter
'I'm thrilled to tell you this first: I've chosen Sen. Tim Kaine as my running mate. Welcome him to our team,' she said in a text to her supporters after her Tampa rally tonight (pictured)
Kaine then confirmed the news on Twitter. He'll campaign with her tomorrow in Miami, Florida
Sen. Tim Kaine was widely expected to get the job and auditioned as a running mate for Clinton eight days ago in his home state of Virginia
Sen. Tim Kaine brings foreign policy experience to the table - and speaks Spanish - but is already being a called 'corrupt' by Republican rival Donald Trump for taking gifts while in office
The selection of the former Democratic Party head came as no shock to the political world: the longtime politician was the favorite for the position given his familiarity with the candidate and her husband Bill and their close friend Terry McAullife, the governor of Virginia.
Kaine checks almost every box that presidential candidates typically consider when looking at applications. The 58-year-old has executive experience having served as Virginia’s governor. And he represents a battleground state with 13 electoral votes.
Additionally, the U.S. senator sits on the Armed Services and Foreign Affairs Committees in the upper chamber. Adding to the one-time Democratic National Committee chairman’s appeal is his proven ability to raise funds for political candidates.
Clinton sent a long email to her supporters Friday night introducing them to 'Tim' - 'a lifelong fighter for progressive causes and one of the most qualified vice presidential candidates in our nation's history.'
The Virginia lawmaker was born in St. Paul, Minnesota. While at Harvard Law School he 'took an unconventional path,' Clinton said, and left school for a year to do missionary work in Honduras.
After graduation he became a civil rights lawyer in Richmond, Virginia. It wasn't until 17 years later that he sought political office. He ran for city council and won.
'To the people in Richmond, an underfunded school wasn't a Democratic or Republican problem. It was simply a problem that needed fixing, and his constituents were counting on him to solve it. So Tim would do it. He'd roll up his sleeves and get the job done, no matter what,' Clinton said of her new running mate.
Kaine's 'commitment to delivering results has stayed with him throughout his decades-long career as a public servant,' she said.
'So I could give you a laundry list of things he went on to accomplish....But this is what’s important: Tim has never taken a job for the glory or the title.'
'He's the same person whether the cameras are on or off. He's sincerely motivated by the belief that you can make a difference in people's lives through public service.'
Continuing she said, 'That quality comes through in every interaction. To know Tim is to love him. When I was talking to people about this decision, I couldn't find anyone -- Democrat or Republican -- who had a bad thing to say about him.'
'From his staff over the last 20 years to his colleagues in the Senate, Tim's beloved. He is a genuinely nice person.'
But, she said, 'Tim is no one's punching bag' and 'he'll be a dogged fighter in our campaign against Donald Trump and Mike Pence.'
As if on cue, Arizona Senator Jeff Flake, a Republican boycotting Trump, praised Kaine on Twitter.
'Trying to count the ways I hate @timkaine. Drawing a blank. Congrats to a good man and a good friend, he said.
Kaine is not without his baggage.
He took more than $160,000 in gifts as governor, including an $18,000 Caribbean vacation to the private island of Mustique, known for attracting celebrities and dignitaries like Sir Paul McCartney and Queen Elizabeth II.
He was given $5,500 in free clothes and took a trip to see George Mason University's men's basketball team play in the Final Four.
Those niceties are legal under Virginia's extremely permissive ethics rules, but the situation draws parallels to Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell – who was supposed to serve two years in prison before the Supreme Court overturned his case.
That didn't stop Donald Trump from calling Kaine 'corrupt.'
Sen. Tim Kaine - photographed in Washington, D.C. last month - was likely chosen by Hillary Clinton to help shore up support for her with white, male voters
The U.S. senator sits on the Armed Services and Foreign Affairs Committees in the upper chamber. Adding to the one-time Democratic National Committee chairman’s appeal is his proven ability to raise funds for political candidates
Arizona Republican Sen. Jeff Flake - who refuses to endorse his party's nominee Donald Trump - had nothing but heartfelt congratulations for his Democratic friend
The former secretary of state already struggles with honesty and trustworthiness, and Republicans made a sport this week at their convention of saying they'd send her to prison.
Nearly two hours after the announcement went out, Trump's senior communications advisor Jason Miller sent out a statement proclaiming that the Clinton-Kaine ticket 'doubles-down on corruption.'
'While serving in government, Kaine has taken tens of thousands of dollars in freebies - more than $160,000 in fact - on free vacations, free clothes and free tickets,' it said.
'The choice has never been clearer - Donald Trump calls on us to Believe in America, while the Status Quo ticket of Clinton-Kaine wants us to believe in a rigged system that enriches them at your expense,' it said.
Other Republicans were quicker to respond to the veep announcement and primed similar attacks.
'Ultimately this is a ticket that represents one thing: four more years like the last eight, just with more corruption and scandal,' said Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus in a statement sent out shortly after the announcement.
Just after being elected governor in 2005, Kaine took his family to the Caribbean, staying at a house owned by investor James B. Murray Jr., who made buckets of money investing in cell phone technology alongside Kaine's U.S. Senate peer, Mark Warner.
When Murray was interviewed about the trip to Politico earlier this month, he called Kaine a 'friend.'
'I didn't consider it a gift: There was no cash, I just let him use a house,' Murray told the political news site. 'There was no quid pro quo. I don't have any business with him.'
Clinton had teased the pick on Friday morning in a donation email to her supporters ---then nothing happened, jumpstarting speculation that she'd wait until Saturday
Kaine reported it anyways and his staff valued the house stay at $18,000, while all other travel expenses were paid for by the governor out of pocket.
He also received $5,500 worth of clothing from Stuart C. Siegel, the Virginia businessman behind the discount menswear chain S&K Famous Brands - a business that went belly up in 2009.
Democrats defending Kaine will point out that he went above and beyond the reporting requirements outlined in the law.
But in his position as governor he was also able to take a trip to the Final Four – a dream for many basketball-loving Americans – watching the George Mason Patriots men's team play Florida, and lose, in 2006.
That trip was paid for by Dominion, a power company in Virginia, which lobbies the government on energy policy.
While no tit for tat was uncovered, Republicans – and maybe Bernie Sanders' Democrats as well –will point out that kind of coziness and say that it has a similar stink to Clinton's speeches to Wall Street.
'This uninspiring pick of a career politician with no real accomplishments will do nothing to excited the liberal base and guarantees Clinton's trust issues on the left will continue to haunt her,' said Colin Reed, the executive director of the American Rising PAC.
The usually quick-on-the trigger Donald Trump took nearly two hours to release a statement tearing into his new opponent. When he finally did, Trump said, 'If you think Crooked Hillary and Corrupt Kaine are going to change anything in Washington, it's just the opposite'
Democrats dutifully lined up behind Kaine on Friday night and repeated much of what Clinton had already said.
'The combination of Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine stands in sharp contrast to the turn-back-the-clock, step up the war on women platform of Donald Trump and Mike Pence,' said National Organization of Women President Terry O'Neill.
O'Neill said, 'Women know this is the most important election in a generation, and we also know that we have a steadfast advocate in Tim Kaine.'
AFL-CIO head Richard Trumka said Kaine 'has a strong record on workers’ issues' and 'will be an asset to the ticket.'
'He is moral and honest and true to the values he espouses. Clinton - Kaine is a winner for America,' Trumka said.
Bernie Sanders-backing organization Democracy for America appeared to be holding it's nose as it threw its support behind the Clinton-Kaine ticket. Earlier this week the group chided Kaine taking an unfavorable position on banking legislation, and it brought it up again tonight.
'Donald Trump is the most dangerous candidate in the history of our country and that's why we're working as hard as we can to unite the Political Revolution with the Democratic Party establishment to defeat him,' Executive Director Charles Chamberlain said.
'Secretary Clinton's choice of Senator Tim Kaine as her running mate doesn't change that goal, but Kaine's support for fast-track authority for the job-killing Trans-Pacific Partnership and recent backing of bank deregulation will make our work more difficult.'
Hillary addresses a crowd at an event in Tampa Bay, Florida, at the beginning of a two-day campaign push in the crucial swing state
The former first lady had teased the pick on Friday morning in a donation email that told supporters, 'You’re going to be one of the first to know when Hillary announces her choice for VP!
She was expected to put sunshine on her running mate this afternoon as she campaigned in Florida and make her first joint appearance with the lucky winner of the Democratic veepstakes tomorrow in Miami.
She made no mention of her pick at a rally in Tampa on Friday evening then sent out the text two hours later.
The much-anticipated moment was to come this afternoon via text message this afternoon to those that signed up for news related to the big reveal, NBC News, said.
Staffers were instead told at an afternoon meeting at Clinton's Brooklyn headquarters that the announcement would come at 'an undisclosed time.'
As news networks reported on the delay, claiming that aides were originally to be given a name in the meeting, Clinton's National Press Secretary Brian Fallon refuted the account on Twitter.
'Not true, he said. 'The meeting happened as scheduled. It was about staffing for the Convention. Was never about VP,' he said in a follow up.
Kaine checks almost every box that presidential candidates typically consider in an application. The 58-year-old has executive experience having served as Virginia’s governor. And he represents a battleground state with 13 electoral votes
A terrorist attack on a mall in Munich, Germany that left eight dead and began a massive manhunt for three gun-wielding terrorists changed the optics of the afternoon on a day that began with Clinton traveling to Orlando for a listening session with community members affected by the Pulse night club shooting.
The roundtable discussion went long and Clinton did not arrive at the Tampa event until more than an hour after it was supposed to start .
On the way to Tampa Clinton said in a tweet, 'Monitoring the horrific situation in Munich. We stand with our friends in Germany as they work to bring those responsible to justice.'
Bets were on the Spanish-speaking senator, especially after Clinton set the scene for Florida, a state with a large Hispanic population.
In selecting him, however, Clinton takes off the table an easy assault on the opposing ticket: it's entirely representative of white America and lacking completely in diversity.
Clinton has argued that as the first woman to potentially run the White House, the Democrats are offering more than their Republican competitors. And she's leaned on Trump’s offensive comments about Muslims and Mexicans to shore up support among minority groups.
Before Tim Kaine was a senator he was Virginia's lieutenant governor and governor and became the head of the Democratic National Committee in 2009 after President Obama was elected
NOT TOTALLY BORING: Sen. Tim Kaine won the National Press Club Centennial Spelling Bee in 2013, correctly spelling the word 'nonpareil'
Still, the Democratic candidate will not be able to escape the fact that her VP selection ensures that no matter who wins in November the first black president with be succeeded by all-white regime with Clinton and Kaine as one option and Donald Trump and Mike Pence as the other.
Tom Vilsack, the sitting agriculture secretary, was also said to be at the top of Clinton's list. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, New Jersey Senator Cory Booker and Labor Secretary Thomas Perez were also vetted.
Their weak foreign policy credentials may have precluded them from getting the job. Importantly, none of them would have brought along swing states. Clinton may also have been concerned about being out-shined by her new best friend.
She won't have to worry about that with Kaine on the ticket. 'I am boring,' he admitted last month in an interview on NBC's Meet the Press. 'But boring is the fastest-growing demographic in this country,' he said.
Kaine's not completely boring, however. He's a harmonica player and occasionally pulls out the mouth harp on the campaign trail.
His website says he loves 'playing harmonica with bluegrass bands throughout Virginia.'
For a year in Washington, Kaine also held the title of National Press Club spelling bee champ, beating scores of reporters and politicians to take the prize in 2013.
Kaine and a Politico reporter were the last two contestants standing and the Virginia senator walked away with the prize for correctly spelling 'nonpareil.'
Two other names that were on Clinton's list of possible running mates: U.S. Senator Cory Booker and Labor Secretary Thomas Perez. Their weak foreign policy credentials may have precluded them from getting the job
Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren told Stephen Colbert Thursday night she 'probably' wasn't the VP pick. While liberals loved her, she brought neither foreign policy experience nor a swing state to the ticket
Warren said Thursday night in a sketch on Stephen Colbert's 'Late Show' show that it was not her.
'Stephen, I think if it were me, I would know it by now,' Warren told him. 'So probably not.'
The long-shot VP pick said, 'But look, she’s got lots of good choices and I’m excited about seeing who she’s going to pick.'
The Massachusetts senator was never thought to be at the top of Clinton's list. She's popular with progressives yet would have alienated centrists.
She has also been a consistent target of Donald Trump's mockery, with the Republican candidate calling her 'Pocahontas' over claims she faked Native American heritage to advance her career.
One woman in the White House would have been revolutionary enough, but even some Democrats worried that two on the ticket would be one too many.
Wildcards for the position were Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown and House Secretary Julian Castro.
Brown congratulated Kaine on winning the coveted slot on Clinton's ticket on Friday night.
'My friend @timkaine brings knowledge and experience to what is already the most qualified Presidential ticket in my lifetime,' he said.
Clinton kept the veepstakes announcement close to her chest. Her campaign promised supporters in an email Sunday that they wouldn't let news leak before they were ready to make an announcement like the Trump campaign, and they didn’t.
A partial list of speakers at the Democratic National Convention that came out on Thursday had Kaine speaking but it did not say what day.
Vice presidents and politicians vying for the job typically speak on the Wednesday of the giant political gathering that stretches four days formally but goes as long as six or seven days with outside events.
This year the Democratic VP pick will have to sure the spotlight at the convention with the outgoing president, Barack Obama, and his vice president, Joe Biden.
Clinton speaks Thursday and will be introduced by her daughter Chelsea. Former President Bill Clinton is headlining Tuesday night's convention proceedings and Bernie Sanders and Michelle Obama will split up Monday.
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