As my colleague Lynn Mitchell has noted, former Governor and DNC chairman Tim Kaine is now, officially, a candidate for the U.S. Senate seat currently occupied by Jim Webb. A lot has changed since Kaine was last on a ballot (the 2005 Virginia governor race). But judging from the video and email announcing his candidacy, Kaine intends to campaign like its 2005 all over again.
In his email, Kaine makes the parallel himself: “Please watch my announcement video, made from the same steps where I launched that first campaign…” For those who recall the early stages of the 2005 gubernatorial contest between then-Lt. Gov. Kaine and then-Attorney General Jerry Kilgore, those steps will be quite familiar. They set a tone Kaine tried to maintain throughout the campaign – I’m just a regular guy looking to make Virginia a better place.
Kaine extended this theme through his famous “Dad” ad, which featured his kids making the pitch for their old man to become Governor (and hopefully outlawing homework). So down to earth was this Tim Kaine that he and his wife are seen unloading a (rather too clean) pickup truck. How could you not like a guy who looks and acts like your next door neighbor?
But as with all things political, there was nothing accidental about this setting – or the one Kaine revisited in his Senate announcement.
In a piece he wrote for the Democratic Leadership Council, Kaine explained the strategy this way:
I had already decided on a policy platform that held a natural appeal for suburban voters. It included tax relief for homeowners, a statewide pre-K initiative, a balanced approach to growth, and new transportation solutions.
Simple enough. One waggish friend of mine called Kaine a “Choir Boy” for using this approach. But Virginia was still something of a red state then, and Kaine needed to hit the buttons that wouldn’t alienate either his liberal base or rile-up the social conservatives down state. The real secret to his success, though, was a Kilgore campaign that was both unfocused and unable to sufficiently motivate the GOP base.
He very likely won’t enjoy this luxury a second time.
Still, enjoy the shots of Tim Kaine’s porch. And look for those ads featuring his much older kids to appear soon. Just don’t look for Virginia’s Republicans to allow him define himself as the guy in the pickup who lives next door.
