Sen. Tim Kaine is viewed as one of the safest and most attractive options to be Hillary Clinton’s running mate. (Getty)
Tim Kaine is widely considered to be a top contender for Hillary Clinton’s vice presidential pick.
Kaine is a former mayor of Richmond, a former Virginia governor, a former Democratic National Committee chairman and now Virginia’s junior U.S. Senator.
During his tenure as governor, Kaine cut the state budget by more than $5 billion, including a reduction in his own salary. His experience in foreign policy could also help his case as a vice presidential candidate. Kaine serves on both the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees.
When Kaine served as the chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 2009 to 2011, he gained widespread media exposure along with national campaigning and fundraising experience.
As the veepstakes speculation continues, we take a look at some of the most important relationships in his life.
Here’s what you need to know about his family:
1. Kaine’s Wife, Anne Holton, Is the Daughter of a Former Republican Governor
Tim Kaine and his wife Anne Holton arrive at the Book Seller’s Entrance February 22, 2009 at the White House. (Getty)
Kaine is married to Anne Holton, who is the daughter of former Republican Governor Linwood Holton.
Kaine earned his B.A. in economics from the University of Missouri, before attending Harvard Law School, where he met his wife. The two met when they were in a study group together. Holton baked cookies in an attempt to gain his attention, according to U.S. News & World Report.
The couple married on November 24, 1984 at St. E’s altar, a year after Kaine graduated from Harvard with a Juris Doctor and was admitted to the Virginia bar. The Kaines eventually settled in Richmond, and still live in the same Northside neighborhood where they moved as newlyweds more than 30 years ago.
When Kaine was governor, his wife returned to the home where she spent four years of her childhood during her father’s time in office.
Kaine calls his father-in-law, who became the first Republican governor of Virginia when he was elected in 1969, his political hero.
Kaine has praised Holton’s ability to integrate Virginia’s public schools within his first year of office.
“When he integrated the schools he did it as an an act of courage, as an act of principal, and he was basically frozen out of electoral politics there after in Virginia,” Kaine told C-SPAN earlier this month.
“But now, he’s 92 years old, he’ll be 93 in September, and people look at what he and his wife…they look at what they did and they say ‘wow, now that was a guy who had a tough time, had to make a tough call, and he made it the right way.’ And he changed Virginia from a state that was looking backward, to a state that started to look forward.”
2. Holton Served as a Legal Aid Lawyer & Juvenile Court Judge Before Becoming Virginia’s Secretary of Education
After graduating with a B.A. from Princeton and a Harvard law degree, Holton worked as a legal aid lawyer serving low-income families. She worked as a juvenile and domestic relations district court judge from 1998 until 2005 when Kaine was elected governor.
Holton has described herself as a “life-long advocate for children and families in Virginia.” She was active in reforming Virginia’s foster care system alongside her husband, and served as a child welfare consultant with the Annie E. Casey Foundation to assist other states.
Holton also helped to initiate education programs for Virginia’s foster youth and alumni. In 2008, she worked with the Virginia Foundation for Community College Education to establish the Great Expectations program. The initiative worked with “campus coaches” on community college campuses to improve access to higher education for foster children in the state. She served as the program’s director in 2013. She is currently Virginia’s Secretary of Education.
3. Tim & Anne Have 2 Sons & a Daughter
Tim Kaine celebrates with his wife Anne Holton (C) and daughter Annella Kaine (R) before speaking to his supporters after winning the Virginia U.S. Senate seat on November 6, 2012 in Richmond, Virginia. (Getty)
The Kaines have three children: sons Nat and Woody and daughter Annella. All three attended Richmond public schools. Nat, their eldest child, graduated from George Washington University ROTC.
The family spends a lot their free time outdoors — camping, hiking, canoeing and biking in Virginia.
Kaine has two younger brothers: Steve and Pat, who live in Kansas City with their families. Steve is a pediatric cardiologist at Children’s Mercy Hospital. Pat and his wife own a law firm that focuses on the sale of commercial aircraft. Both of his parents are 81, and live near his brothers.
4. The Kaines Are Active in the Catholic Church
Tim Kaine has been open about his Catholic religion and how it has shaped his views. (Getty)
Kaine has been vocal about his own Catholicism. “My faith is central to everything I do,” he said in an interview with The Washington Post. “My faith position is a Good Samaritan position of trying to watch out for the other person.”
For Kaine, religion has been an influence in his family life and his political career. A former missionary in rural Honduras, Kaine told the Washington Post, he often reflects on how Catholicism informs his views on issues including race, poverty and cultural diversity.
During a C-SPAN interview, Kaine said one of the spiritual phrases he lives by is by George Fox, who founded Quakerism: “Walk cheerfully over the earth, answering that of God in everyone.”
5. Kaine Worked in His Dad’s Welding Shop as a Child
Tim Kaine spent many hours working in his father’s welding shop during his childhood. (Getty)
Kaine grew up in Kansas City, working in his father’s ironworking shop. He was up early every Saturday morning to help.
In a recent interview with C-SPAN, Kaine discussed his background, and the life lessons he gained while working alongside his father:
My dad was a great business guy, and he always taught us that his business acumen would put his workers’ kids through school, and their great artistry…would put my brothers and me through school. So it was a really wonderful place to learn about hard work and not cutting corners, and excellence. And also you’ve got to be a team if you’re going to be successful. My dad taught me a lot of really good values through that business.
Kaine brought his welding skills to Honduras when he took a year off law school to work with Jesuit missionaries. He served as principal of a technical school that taught teenagers carpentry and welding.
