ANNANDALE, Va. — Hillary Clinton tested out her on-stage rapport with potential running mate Sen. Tim Kaine at a rally in his home state on Thursday, as the two politicians joined forces to bash Donald Trump.
Kaine posed three questions to the crowd, asking them if they preferred a “you’re hired” or a “you’re fired” kind of president, a “trash talker or a bridge builder,” or “a me first president or a kids and families first president.” As the Virginia senator condemned Trump, he cast the business mogul as someone who doesn’t care about the future of the American people.
Clinton embraced Kaine’s criticisms of Trump. “I really appreciate Tim laying out the choice like that. Because make no mistake about this, this is one of the most consequential elections in our history,” she said.
Kaine warmed up the crowd with self-deprecating jokes and chants of “estamos listos para Hillary!” the Spanish translation of “Ready for Hillary.” Kaine spent his youth doing missionary work in Honduras, speaks fluent Spanish and has close ties to the Latino community, something that could be a tremendous asset to Clinton as she works to win over the Latino vote in swing states like Virginia, Nevada, Florida and Colorado.
Although Clinton likely won’t release her running mate pick until after the GOP convention, early reports show that Kaine is in the process of being vetted and is already a top pick. The former Virginia governor, Richmond mayor and current senator would bring experience to the ticket and help boost Clinton’s profile among Latinos, working class voters and swing state voters in Virginia.
Marcel Vonvancano, a Virginia voter and a member of the immigration reform union Liuna, explained to the Washington Examiner that Kaine would be the best choice for Latinos because he “understands the culture and the language of Latinos and seems to be very sensitive, along with Hillary.”
“They seem to understand minorities more than any other candidate, much more than Trump by far,” she added. “They’d be a good ticket and probably together they can include other groups, not just Latinos.”
As the former secretary of state works to win over Virginians, a slew of Virginia politicians joined Clinton and Kaine in Annandale, including Rep. Gerry Connolly, Bobby Scott and Don Beyer. Northern Virginia is much more populous than the rest of the state and tends to lean blue, so if Clinton can capture the vast majority of the counties surround Washington D.C., she will be better positioned to win the state.
As Rep. Beyer introduced Kaine, he told the crowd that in 2012 Virginia was instrumental in President Barack Obama’s re-election, and proudly declared, “The road to the White House runs right through Northern Virginia!”
