Hillary Clinton picks Virginia Senator Tim Kaine as running mate

Hillary Clinton has announced Virginia Senator Tim Kaine as her running mate for the Nov. 8 U.S. presidential election.

Calling him "a man who's devoted his life to fighting for others," the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee announced her vice-presidential pick on Twitter Friday night after multiple campaign stops in Florida.  

She said Kaine is "a relentless optimist who believes no problem is unsolvable if you put the work in to solve it."

• Hillary Clinton's vice-president short list narrows
• Inside Clinton's Cleveland war room
• Trump proves he's a winner, but now he'll have to be a unifier

The Spanish-speaking Kaine, 58, edged out two other contenders widely believed to be finalists in the vice-presidential sweepstakes — Cory Booker, a U.S. senator from New Jersey, and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.

The former secretary of state's choice sends a signal about her plan of battle against Trump and helps give her campaign momentum as the fight for the White House enters a key stage.

Kaine has previously served as the state's governor and as mayor of Virginia's capital city of Richmond before becoming a senator, and he was vetted as a possible vice-presidential pick for Barack Obama in 2008.

TPP could be sticking point 

Liberal groups, which had pressured Clinton not to pick Kaine because of his support for fast-track authority for the White House to negotiate the Trans-Pacific Partnership, were dismayed by the choice.

Critics of the free-trade deal, including Trump and Clinton's Democratic primary rival Bernie Sanders, say it would be unfair to U.S. workers and kill jobs. Clinton praised the deal when she was secretary of state, but has since distanced herself from it.

"Republicans will run hard against Democrats on trade this year," said Stephanie Taylor, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee. "Unfortunately, since Tim Kaine voted to fast-track the Trans-Pacific Partnership, Republicans now have a new opening to attack Democrats on this economic populist issue."

Still, picking Kaine, a self-described "boring" Virginian with wide governing experience and a reputation for low-key competence, emphasizes Clinton's message that Democrats will offer a serious, steady alternative to the unpredictable Trump after the chaotic Republican convention that closed on Thursday.​

'The ultimate insiders' 

Meanwhile, Trump's campaign already has a nickname Clinton's new running mate: "Corrupt Kaine."

The Trump campaign called the senator "ethically challenged," citing a Politico report that he accepted $160,000 in gifts from 2001 to 2009, when he was Virginia's lieutenant governor and governor. Those gifts were under Virginia's permissive ethics rules.

Trump's senior communications adviser Jason Miller said: "the Status Quo ticket of Clinton-Kaine wants us to believe in a rigged system that enriches them at your expense."

Earlier Friday, Trump sent supporters a text calling Clinton, Kaine and Obama "the ultimate insiders."

In a 75-minute speech Thursday night, Trump — who chose Indiana Gov. Mike Pence as his running mate last week — made forceful promises to be the champion of disaffected Americans, capping his convention on a high note for the party, not a moment too soon after shows of disharmony and assorted flubs before the day-four closer.

Donald Trump addresses convention

8 years ago

Duration 1:14:49

Republican candidate accepts presidential nomination in Cleveland

The speech was strikingly dark for a celebratory event and almost entirely lacking in policy details. Trump pledged as president to restore a sense of public safety, strictly curb immigration and save the nation from Clinton's record of "death, destruction, terrorism and weakness."

In Tampa on Friday evening, hours before announcing her VP pick, Clinton responded to her Republican rival's speech by accusing him of stoking hatred, fear and divisiveness. 

"The last thing we need are leaders who try to divide us even more than we are. We should be working to reach out to those who are different from us. Our differences, which make up our diversity, make us the strongest, best-positioned country in the world for the 21st century," she said.

The former first lady concluded her speech by shouting "Love trumps hate," a slogan used by anti-Trump protesters nationwide. 

Hitting the campaign trail together 

Kaine could help Clinton in Virginia, a heavily contested swing state, and choosing Kaine will not cost Democrats a seat in the Senate, where Republicans now hold a majority, at 54 seats. 

Virginia's Democratic governor, Terry McAuliffe, a close Clinton friend and ally, will name a replacement for Kaine if he and Clinton win the White House. 

Kaine has good relations with senators from the opposing party, senior Senate Republican congressional aides told Reuters. One aide speculated Kaine would be effective in reaching out to congressional Republicans if he becomes vice-president, a role that Vice-President Joe Biden has played for Obama.

Kaine tweeted shortly after the announcement that he is honoured to be Clinton's running mate and excited to hit the campaign trail. The pair will appear together as a team for the first time at a campaign stop in Miami on Saturday. 

Clinton will be formally nominated as her party's presidential candidate at next week's Democratic convention in Philadelphia.