Who is Tim Kaine? Everything to know about Virginia's Democratic candidate for US Senate
FAIRFAX, Va. - In the final weeks before Election Day, several contests in the region are heating up. In Virginia, Democratic incumbent Sen. Tim Kaine faces Republican challenger Hung Cao in the race for a senate seat.
Kaine is a two time senator in the commonwealth, seeking a third term. Kaine has also previously served as a former Virginia governor and a former running mate of Hillary Clinton in the 2016 elections.
Here is where Kaine stands on five major issues.
Economy
Kaine is an advocate for the expansion of 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 on a campaign that’s very focused on the economy as the lead issue," Kaine said in a recent interview on The Final 5.
Healthcare
Amid this year’s election season, Democrats have campaigned heavily on protecting the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in lieu of a potential Trump administration. The ACA increases health insurance coverage for the uninsured and implements provisions to the health insurance market.
"I was the deciding vote to save the Affordable Care Act a few years back. Hundreds of thousands of Virginians for the first time in their life – and all Virginians protected from discrimination against pre-existing conditions," said Kaine.
Kaine is in favor of supporting healthcare access. He introduced the Medicare-X Choice Act in congress. The bill would allow patient’s the choice between private and public insurance.
Reproductive Rights
Virginia is the southernmost state that has yet to widely ban or restrict abortion access following the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022.
Current state law bans access after 26 weeks of pregnancy. Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin has called for banning access after 15 weeks of pregnancy. Democrats, who control both Virginia’s legislative chambers, have pushed back on that plan.
Kaine is opposed to an abortion ban. He’s a sponsor of the Reproductive Freedom for All Act. The bipartisan bill would codify the protections of Roe v. Wade as statutory protections at the federal level.
Immigration
Virginia is home to roughly over one million immigrants – making up 13% of the state’s population and about 17% of Virginia’s workforce. When it comes to reform, Kaine has advocated for border enforcement while supporting legal immigration.
According to Kaine’s campaign, he’s in favor of protecting Temporary Protected Status (TPS) recipients – who are living in the U.S. after being displaced in their home countries. Kaine has cosponsored legislation to enable TPS recipients to obtain U.S. residency and called for TPS designations for countries with humanitarian crises.
Foreign Policy
Kaine has condemned the October 7th attack by Hamas on Israel and advocated for more aid.
"I’ve always voted for aid to Israel. We’ve 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, helped whip votes for the $14 billion aid package that we passed in April,"
said Kaine.
Kaine is in favor of prioritizing sending defensive weapons to Israel, rather than offensive weapons.
"I frankly think offensive weapons into this region is adding more gun powder to a tinder keg and is likely to lead to a bad result," said Kaine.