Timothy Michael Kaine ( ; born February 26, 1958) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Virginia, a seat he has held since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 70th governor of Virginia from 2006 to 2010, and as the 38th lieutenant governor of Virginia from 2002 to 2006. Kaine was the Democratic vice presidential nominee in the 2016 presidential election, running alongside presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.
Born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Kaine grew up in Overland Park, Kansas. He graduated from the University of Missouri and earned a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School. Afterward, he entered private practice and became a lecturer at the University of Richmond School of Law. He was first elected to public office in 1994, when he won a seat on the Richmond city council. He was elected mayor of Richmond in 1998, holding that position until being elected lieutenant governor of Virginia in 2001.
Kaine was elected governor of Virginia in 2005 and held that office from 2006 to 2010. He chaired the Democratic National Committee from 2009 to 2011. In 2012, Kaine was elected to the U.S. Senate, defeating former Virginia governor and senator George Allen. He was reelected to a second term by a wide margin in 2018, defeating Republican Corey Stewart, and for a third term in 2024, defeating Republican Hung Cao.
In 2016, presidential nominee Clinton selected Kaine as her running mate for the upcoming presidential election. While winning a plurality of the national popular vote, Clinton and Kaine lost the Electoral College, and therefore the general election, to the Republican ticket of Donald Trump and Mike Pence.
Early life and education
thumb|left|Apartment building where the Kaine family lived when he was born
Kaine was born at Saint Joseph's Hospital in Saint Paul, Minnesota. He is the eldest of three sons born to Mary Kathleen (née Burns), a home economics teacher, and Albert Alexander Kaine Jr., a welder and the owner of a small iron-working shop. He was raised Catholic. Kaine's family moved to Overland Park, Kansas, when Kaine was two years old, and he grew up in the Kansas City area. At Rockhurst, Kaine joined the debate team and was elected student body president. He entered Harvard Law School in 1979, interrupting his law studies after his first year to work in Honduras