Who is Tim Kaine? Everything there is to know about the Virginia Democratic candidate for the United States Senate

FAIRFAX, Va. – In the final weeks before Election Day, several races in the region are heating up. In Virginia, incumbent Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine faces Republican challenger Hung Cao in the race for a Senate seat.

Kaine is a two-time Commonwealth Senator and is seeking a third term. Kaine also previously served as the former governor of Virginia and Hillary Clinton’s former running mate in the 2016 election.

Here is Kaine’s stance on five important issues.

Economy

Kaine is an advocate for expanding infrastructure and manufacturing in Virginia. Kaine also supports tax cuts for low- and middle-income families, and for veteran and military families.

“I’m running a campaign that is very focused on the economy as the main issue,” Kaine said in a recent interview on The Final 5.

health care

In the midst of this year’s election season, Democrats have campaigned hard to protect the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in lieu of a potential Trump administration. The ACA increases health insurance coverage for the uninsured and implements provisions for the health insurance marketplace.

“I was the swing vote in saving the Affordable Care Act a few years ago. Hundreds of thousands of Virginians for the first time in their lives, and every Virginian protected from discrimination based on pre-existing conditions,” Kaine said.

Kaine is in favor of supporting access to health care. Introduced the Medicare-X Choice Act in Congress. The bill would allow patients to choose between public and private insurance.

reproductive rights

Virginia is the southernmost state that has yet to broadly ban or restrict access to abortion following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022.

Current state law prohibits access after 26 weeks of pregnancy. Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin has called for a ban on access after 15 weeks of pregnancy. Democrats, who control both chambers of Virginia’s legislature, have rejected that plan.

Kaine opposes abortion bans. He is a sponsor of the Reproductive Freedom for All Act. The bipartisan bill would codify the protections of Roe v. Wade as legal protections at the federal level.

Immigration

Virginia is home to approximately more than one million immigrants, representing 13% of the state’s population and about 17% of Virginia’s workforce. When it comes to reform, Kaine has advocated for border control while also supporting legal immigration.

According to Kaine’s campaign, he is in favor of protecting Temporary Protected Status (TPS) recipients, who live in the United States after being displaced in their home countries. Kaine has co-sponsored legislation to allow TPS recipients to obtain residency in the US and called for TPS designations for countries with humanitarian crises.

Foreign policy

Kaine condemned Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel and pleaded for more aid.

“I have always voted for aid to Israel. We have given more aid to Israel than any other nation in the world. I helped President Obama, encouraged him to renegotiate the ten-year defense. And I helped push the votes for the 14 thousand million dollars aid package that we approved in April,”
Kaine said.

Kaine is in favor of prioritizing the shipment of defensive weapons to Israel, rather than offensive weapons.

“Frankly, I think the offensive weapons in this region are adding more gunpowder to the tinder keg and are likely to lead to a bad outcome,” Kaine said.