Former Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine overcame a barrage of attack ads in his bid for the Senate. He defeated Republican George Allen, another former governor, in one of the most expensive campaigns of the 2012 cycle.
Negative ads attacking Mr. Kaine’s ties to the Obama administration (he was chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 2009 to 2011) started airing a year before the election. Outside groups spent more than $28 million attacking him.
“The outcome in Virginia spoke very clearly that grassroots can beat out big checks and outside ads,” he said in a press conference after the election. He defeated Mr. Allen 52.5 percent to 47.5 percent.
During the campaign, Kaine took the unusual approach of meeting with people who did not support him in an attempt to cultivate bipartisan cooperation before he was even elected. It’s an approach he will use in Washington to find common ground on divisive issues.
Kaine said his first order of business is to work with his Senate colleagues to find long-term solutions to the debt and deficit issues, reported the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
As governor (2005 to 2009) Kaine dealt with similar issues to the national fiscal problems. He worked to balance the commonwealth’s budget by negotiating with a Republican legislature and consenting to spending cuts.
“You just can’t cut your way to prosperity,” he said in an interview with PBS NewsHour. “That is why we do have to have a budget deal that finds fixes on both sides of the balance sheet, both expenses and revenues.”
The new senator will get a chance to influence the fiscal debate as a member of the Budget Committee. The Democratic leadership also assigned him to the Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees.
“These important committees will enable me to work on issues that matter to Virginians, including our nation’s fiscal challenges, issues affecting military personnel, veterans, and their families, and workforce development,” Kaine wrote on his Facebook page.
He began his political career in 1994 when he was elected to the Richmond City Council. In 1998 he became mayor, and then lieutenant governor in 2001. Before his political career, Kaine practiced civil rights law for 18 years.
