U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine believes in marking milestones.
As he approached 30 years in public service, Kaine said he took time to reflect before seeking another term in the Senate. He had already served as a city councilman, mayor, lieutenant governor, governor and Virginia senator for two terms. And in 2016, he was Democrat Hillary Clinton’s running mate in her bid for the White House.
Maybe it was time for a new chapter?
“I really grappled with what was the right answer,” he said. “I wanted to do either (decision) whole-heartedly.”
Kaine, 66, ultimately concluded this wasn’t the right time to step away. He is running for his third Senate term and faces Republican political newcomer Hung Cao, who has former President Donald Trump’s support. During a Monday interview with The Virginian-Pilot, Kaine discussed the concerns that kept him in politics and shared his thoughts on this year’s unprecedented presidential election.
“It’s been a whipsaw of a two months,” he said.
This summer was marked by political upheaval. President Joe Biden’s debate performance in June caused panic among some Democrats and sowed divisions within the party about whether the 81-year old should halt his reelection bid. A gunman attempted to assassinate Trump at a campaign rally just two weeks later.
Kaine described the debate as painful, but said he understood why the president wasn’t pressured to drop out sooner.
“President Biden did a great job at the State of the Union,” he said. “Not only was the speech great but he stayed in the chamber visiting with everybody … I don’t think anybody was in a position before June 27 to say ‘Hey, we’ve got to go a different direction.’ ”
Kaine, however, noted presidential debates are typically held in September or October. He suspects Biden’s campaign may have offered to debate earlier this year to ensure there would be time to change candidates if problems arose.
Kaine, who never added his voice to the public chorus calling on Biden to step aside, said his gut told him the president would make the right call. Biden later withdrew from the race in July and was replaced by Vice President Kamala Harris.
Kaine said Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, are off to a strong start and have unified the party. But he’s still expecting a tight race to the White House.
Explaining that economic issues are a priority for most voters, he urged the candidates to tout the Biden administration’s record on infrastructure, job creation and new business registrations.
“Democracy and freedom are good (campaign themes) but put the economy in and have there be three pillars,” he said. “The Republican economic message is so simple and straightforward, cut taxes and cut regulation and they’ve had that as the theme since Reagan. The Democrats never had a simple theme, so how about one that takes advantage of the Biden-Harris accomplishments — Make, Build, Grow?”
As for his own campaign, Kaine said he isn’t taking anything for granted. But if reelected, he hopes to focus on “unfinished business” related to immigration reform. It’s a heated issue, but he sees reasons to hope for a bipartisan solution.
“The unemployment rate in this country is low and the birth rate is low,” he said. “We are not going to meet the needs of the shipbuilding industry or hospitals or hotels without a workforce-based immigration reform bill.”
Kaine, who was governor during the 2007 mass shooting at Virginia Tech, said he also has more work to do on firearms. He wants to continue pushing for measures, such as magazine limitations and universal background checks, aimed at reducing gun violence.
Strengthening alliances abroad would be another priority, he said. Kaine co-sponsored legislation last year, which was passed as part of the annual National Defense Authorization Act, to prohibit any president from withdrawing from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization without congressional approval.
“It’s the one thing that China and Russia never really have had, although you see them realizing as they’re watching what’s going on in Ukraine that they better be closer together because NATO and other alliances like that are such a value add for the democracies,” he said.
“I really feel like more work in the diplomacy space to strengthen alliances both for military and other cooperations is something I’m really excited to be (a part of) in the future.”
Katie King, katie.king@virginiamedia.com
