Hillary Clinton names Tim Kaine as her running mate

Hillary Clinton has named Tim Kaine, a US senator from Virginia, as her vice-presidential running mate, turning to a seasoned voice on foreign affairs and a representative of a key battleground state to complete the Democratic ticket.

The announcement, which concluded a highly secretive vetting process that took more than two months, was made ahead of the Democratic national convention in Philadelphia, where Clinton will formally accept her party’s nomination for president next week. Clinton’s supporters were alerted of her decision via a text message on Friday, with a joint campaign rally to follow with Kaine in Miami on Saturday.

Clinton chose Kaine from four top candidates following an extensive vetting process. The shortlist also included agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack, labor secretary Tom Perez and US Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey.

The decision reflects Clinton’s efforts to draw a sharp contrast with Republican nominee Donald Trump, a candidate she has declared unfit and unprepared for the presidency. Clinton has sought to define her candidacy as one of experience and competence; in Kaine she has turned to a partner who, like her, has served in public office for decades.

The senator has been lieutenant governor and governor of Virginia. Since his arrival in the Senate in 2013, he has developed his résumé in foreign policy, sitting on the foreign relations and armed services committees, and repeatedly called for a formal war authorization against Isis.

Trump chose as his running mate Mike Pence, the governor of Indiana and a popular figure among social conservatives. Democrats pounced on Pence as the most conservative vice-presidential pick in modern history, citing in particular his hardline stance against abortion and approval of a controversial religious freedom law last year that allowed businesses to deny services to LGBT individuals.

Clinton’s search focused primarily on who would be a steady governing partner and qualified to step in as president, according to aides familiar with the process. Her decision was made public after Trump accepted the Republican presidential nomination at the GOP convention in Cleveland, an event overshadowed by a continued lack of party unity.

Kaine, who in 2008 was a final contender to join Barack Obama’s ticket, is seen as a moderate Democrat who, as a Catholic, holds appeal among an influential voting bloc. He is also well-liked on both sides of the aisle, as was reflected in the reaction from a number of prominent Republicans.

“Trying to count the ways I hate @timkaine. Drawing a blank,” Jeff Flake, a Republican senator from Arizona, tweeted. “Congrats to a good man and a good friend.”

Former Republican presidential candidate Lindsey Graham also chimed in, tweeting: “I find the VP candidates -- Governor Mike Pence and Senator Tim Kaine -- more palatable than the presidential nominees.”

The South Carolina senator added that “millions of Americans will soon find this to be the case as well”.

Although Democrats have broadly rallied behind Clinton, the selection of Kaine could reopen fissures following a contentious primary between Clinton and Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

Kaine does little to ease the concerns of liberal voters who remain skeptical about Clinton and had hoped she might choose senator and progressive darling Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. Booker would have been the first African American vice-presidential nominee, and Perez would have been the first Hispanic person on a presidential ticket had he been chosen.

While Kaine does not bring diversity to the ticket, he is fluent in Spanish and previewed his capabilities as a bilingual candidate while campaigning alongside Clinton in his home state of Virginia last week.

“Estamos listos para Hillary!” he exclaimed, before translating for the audience: “We are ready for Hillary!”

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The Clinton campaign featured Kaine’s remarks on the stump in a video late Friday following the announcement.

“Do you want a me-first president, or a kids-and-families-first president,” Kaine says in the clip. “Do you want a trash-talker president or a bridge-builder president?”

Following that rally, Clinton met privately with Kaine at her home in Washington, according to a campaign aide. She subsequently met with several of the frontrunners for her vice presidential nod before sitting down with Kaine once more, although this time accompanied by their families.

Former president Bill Clinton was also favorable toward Kaine, but it was Hillary Clinton who owned the decision. She did not make her final decision until Friday, an aide said, and called Kaine after a campaign rally in Tampa the same day.

“Just got off the phone with Hillary,” Kaine tweeted after the news went public. “I’m honored to be her running mate. Can’t wait to hit the trail tomorrow in Miami!”

Clinton arrived in Florida amid a frenzy of speculation over the identity of her vice-presidential running mate, but the presumptive Democratic nominee first paid a visit to Orlando, more than a month after a shooting at an LGBT nightclub there left 49 dead and 53 more injured.

On Friday afternoon, reports emerged of a shooting at a mall in Munich that left at least 10 dead. A spokesman for German police said they were treating the massacre as an act of terrorism.

Clinton, who was scheduled to depart for a campaign rally in Tampa, reacted to the news with a tweet: “Monitoring the horrific situation in Munich. We stand with our friends in Germany as they work to bring those responsible to justice.”

Clinton did not delay her VP announcement, though last week Trump postponed his first joint rally with Pence by a day following the Bastille Day terrorist attack in Nice, France.

Pence subsequently played a full role in a rumbustious Republican national convention in Cleveland. Clinton on Friday said her opponents’ focus on her at the convention had been “kind of perversely flattering”.

“It’s hard to believe they spent so much time talking about me and no time talking about jobs or education or healthcare,” Clinton said at a campaign rally in Tampa.

Addressing thousands of supporters at the Florida state fairgrounds, Clinton assailed her opponent’s convention address as counter to the principles upon which America was founded. The former secretary of state offered a lengthy rebuke of Trump, particularly over the real estate mogul’s declaration during his speech that “I alone can fix it”.

“Now, just think about that for a minute, because it’s really important,” Clinton said. “His vision of America is one where we Americans are kind of helpless – where we need to be rescued. “I can’t really imagine him on a white horse, but that seems to be what he’s telling us: ‘I alone can fix it.’

“That’s not a democracy, my friends. As I recall, we had a revolution to make sure we didn’t have someone who said I can fix it alone.

“He doesn’t understand that we Americans, we are strong, big-hearted, results-oriented, generous people in America.”

Clinton also reacted to Senator Ted Cruz of Texas being booed off the stage in Cleveland after he urged the crowd to “vote your conscience” while withholding his endorsement of Trump during a primetime speech on Wednesday.

“I never thought I would say these words but Ted Cruz was right,” Clinton said of the former Republican presidential candidate. “Something has gone terribly wrong when one speaker says, ‘Vote your conscience’ and gets booed. In this election, do the right thing and vote your conscience.”