Though Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine (D) will not be on the presidential ballot this November — despite summer rumors that he could be named Barack Obama’s vice presidential candidate — his work as Obama’s national campaign co-chairman will keep him active in preparations for the upcoming November election.
“I imagine as Obama focuses more on Virginia in the fall, Kaine will play a prominent role campaigning on his behalf,” said Dan Keyserling, deputy communications director for the University’s Center for Politics and former Cavalier Daily executive editor.
Since beginning his role as national campaign co-chair in February 2007, Kaine has visited states such as Iowa, South Carolina, Georgia and Texas, in addition to traveling across the commonwealth to spread Obama’s message.
“He has done quite a bit to help with fundraising in Virginia [and has been] providing political outreach in the state during the campaign ... [in order to] secure supporters,” said Kaine’s political campaign advisor Charlie Kelly.
Shortly before the start of the semester, Kaine held a town hall meeting at Henrico High School in Richmond, where he spoke about the important role Virginia voters will play in the November election.
“Come election night, [Virginia doesn’t] have to wait to see who the next president is,” Kaine said. “We decide ... We have this election right in our hands.”
Keyserling said that although he believes Virginia will have a major impact on the election, he does not think it will be the deciding factor.
“I think Virginia will be a deciding factor but not the deciding factor,” Keyserling said. “It’s too early to decide which state, if any, will have the final say in November.”
Additionally, not all Virginians share Kaine’s views about who ought to be the next commander-in-chief. While Kaine is optimistic about Obama’s chances of winning over Virginia voters, Michael Hardy, deputy chief of staff for Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling (R), offered a different view.
“He [Kaine] sees his role as helping deliver Virginia’s 13 electoral votes to Obama,” Hardy said. “But at the end of the day, I think Virginia will go Republican as it has for the last 44 years.”
Despite Hardy’s opinion, Kaine’s spokesperson Gordon Hickey emphasized that the governor is committed to promoting Obama’s campaign in the commonwealth.
“He ... will do everything he can to help Sen. Obama win in Virginia,” Hickey said.
Kaine’s efforts to promote Obama’s agenda were evident at his town hall speech in Richmond, where Kaine addressed Obama’s goals such as the need for universal healthcare.
“We have to have a system in this country where every human has healthcare,” Kaine said. “We need change in this country ... change back to our values and priorities ... to equality.”
Kelly explained that such ideas of equality were very attractive to Kaine; the governor began working with Obama in 2005 after Obama made a number of appearances in Virginia.
Though some speculated that Kaine might receive the opportunity to work even more closely with Obama, serving as his vice presidential candidate, Kelly said Kaine believes Obama’s recent choice of Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., will help Obama to victory.
“The Obama-Biden ticket is a very strong ticket [and] it resonates well with voters across country,” Kelly said. “The governor is very favorable to that ticket.”
Obama’s decision to choose a vice presidential running mate other than Kaine also allows the governor to remain dedicated to his current job. Hickey said Kaine is still very focused on his role as governor, noting that the governor mainly works for the campaign in his spare time.
“He’s 100 percent governor, 100 percent of the time,” Hickey said. “He helps out with the campaign generally on his off time — generally on weekends — and he will continue to be governor 100 percent of the time until the end of his term.”
Hardy said although he thinks that Kaine is doing as best as he sees fit as governor, he still believes the governor needs to remain attentive to issues within the commonwealth, such as the budget shortage.
“He does need to focus on what Virginia is going through and I think his efforts need to be focused on how to fix Virginia’s budget,” Hardy said. “We’re facing a $1 billion shortfall and he needs to certainly stay focused on how he plans to helps us recover from that.”
Kelly said that in the coming weeks, Kaine will be making more appearances around Virginia on behalf of Obama, while continuing to focus on his role as governor of Virginia.
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