Reports: Clinton ‘Likely’ to Announce Virginia Senator Tim Kaine as VP Pick

Announcement May Come Friday Afternoon

Hillary Clinton is expected to choose Virginia Senator and former Governor Tim Kaine as her choice of vice presidential running mate, according to reports in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and UPI. While the reports say the decision is not final, beloved progressive icon Elizabeth Warren, who is on the short list, Thursday night said she is “probably not” going to be Clinton’s VP pick.

Others on the short list include New Jersey Senator and former Mayor Cory Booker, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, and Labor Secretary Thomas E. Perez, although some reports state Perez is already out of the running.

Kaine could deliver the battleground state of Virginia, which the Wall Street Journal notes former President Bill Clinton says could cement the former Secretary of State’s win against Donald Trump. The former president is said to believe Clinton winning Virginia gives the GOP nominee “virtually no realistic path to the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win.”

“Though unflashy by his own admission, his Spanish fluency might be able to cement her lead among Hispanic voters, a key general-election constituency. He is considered a loyal figure who would mesh well with Mrs. Clinton’s leadership style,” the Journal reports.

Clinton has said she wants a vice president who is qualified to be president on day one.

But the choice of Kaine will not sit well with many liberals and progressives, The New York Times reports, noting “the prospects have dimmed for the two liberal senators who were being considered, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Sherrod Brown of Ohio.” 

Other considerations for Clinton include not stripping the U.S. Senate of a Democrat who would be replaced by a Republican governor with a Republican. 

Here’s Clinton campaigning with Kaine last week in Virginia:

 

Image: Screenshot via CBS News/YouTube