Hillary Clinton has named Virginia Senator Tim Kaine as her running mate ahead of the Democrats National Convention in Philadelphia next week.
Clinton announced Kaine as her choice via text message to her supporters last night, following much speculation that he would be the pick to help take her to the Whitehouse in November.
The former-Governor of Virginia sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Clinton decided after months of deliberation that he was the man to make her ticket a success.
A key part of the decision was that Kaine is a senator in the swing-state of Virginia.
Kaine has never lost an election and edged out rivals Tom Vilsack and John Hickenlooper for the job.
Virginia’s junior senator is seen as a safe pick by Clinton, a man whose views are seen to be just left of centre.
Kaine tweeted that he was “honoured” to be selected as Clinton’s running mate.
Clinton herself tweeted that she was “thrilled” to announce Kaine, who she described as a “relentless optimist who believes no problem is unsolvable if you put in the work to solve it.”
Clinton also spoke about Kaine last week, telling Charlie Rose of CBS News and PBS: “He was a world-class mayor, governor and senator and is one of the most highly respected senators I know.”
Kaine is a Harvard educated lawyer with deep Christian beliefs, who has focused on racial reconciliation and justice throughout his career.
The 58 year-old is also fluent in Spanish which could help strengthen their ticket’s appeal to more Latin-American voters.
There has been mixed reactions to the choice though, with some critics calling the pick boring, whilst others believe that Kaine is the perfect fit for the V-P position.
Kaine will have a chance to impress his critics next week, as he is due to formally accept the job at the Democrats National Convention in the Wells Fargo Centre on Wednesday.
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