Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine voiced his support for Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign and encouraged students to vote at a 175-person event hosted by the University Democrats, a political organization on Grounds that aims to support the Democratic Party through voter outreach and activism. In its first meeting of the semester, club leaders said they hoped to increase recruitment and engage students in election campaign efforts by hosting a recognizable politician like Kaine, who was the vice presidential nominee for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election.
Kaine, a Democrat, has represented Virginia in the United States Senate since 2013 and is currently seeking reelection for a third term. Prior to his time in the senate, he served as Mayor of Richmond from 1998 to 2001 and Governor of Virginia from 2006 to 2010. He currently serves on the Armed Services, Budget, Foreign Relations, and Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committees in the Senate.
Kaine said that he wanted to visit the University as part of his campaign efforts in order to connect with voters of every age group, region and demographic and hear their perspectives. Throughout the event, Kaine encouraged students to vote, saying former President Donald Trump poses a threat to American democracy should he be reelected.
He also discussed Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign, which he endorsed shortly after President Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race July 21. He shared an anecdote about the first tie-breaking vote in the Senate that she made as Vice President, in which she supported a bill to extend Medicaid coverage for low-income mothers.
Kaine said that this anecdote exemplified Harris’s ability to gather bipartisan support for legislation and to find creative solutions to persistent problems.
“[This story] exemplifies some character traits.” Kaine said. “Identify a problem, gather the stakeholders from both sides of the aisle. Persist. 40 years of patient effort built up to that pivotal vote where we could make something positive and persist to get legislation passed.”
Ella Nelsen, University Democrats president and fourth-year College student, said her main goal for the event was to motivate students to get involved in the club. According to Nelsen, the University Democrats plan to host other political speakers this fall and participate in volunteering efforts for the election.
“This is our interest meeting and our first meeting of the semester, so I think it'll help people get really excited about the opportunities that we're giving to them this semester,” Nelsen said. “[This event], which we have 175 people signed up for, is a chance to get a lot more people signed up to campaign.”
The event also included a question and answer section, during which Kaine said that making it easier for people to vote should be a top priority in our political system. While some people point to voter fraud as a potential issue when expanding voting access, Kaine said that he believes voter fraud is an exaggerated issue used to restrict people from voting.
“We do want to make sure that the voting system has real integrity to it.” Kaine said. “But any effort to restrict people's ability to register or actually vote on election day, I always [approach] with skepticism. We should want to maximize participation in a democracy for those who are able to participate.”
Kaine also spoke on his ideas to combat gun violence on a national level, in response to a school shooting which occurred Wednesday in Georgia. He said he hopes to ban assault weapons, place limits on the size of magazines and implement universal background checks. Kaine also spoke on the psychological impacts of gun violence, saying that parents and teachers now worry about whether their students will be safe each day they go to school.
“I don't know how many of you went to schools where they started the day with a moment of silence.” Kaine said. “I was with a teacher recently who said that in that moment of silence, every adult in the building is saying, ‘let today not be the day.’”
Third-year College student Liza Tkachenko, who attended the event, said she appreciated that Kaine’s answer to questions about gun violence was focused on a realistic solution that could engage both sides of the aisle.
Another student expressed concern about low levels of U.S. military recruitment, saying that it has been particularly challenging for the United States to find sufficient staff and workers for military ships. Kaine gave some potential solutions, which included increased promotion of the benefits of military service, more affordable childcare and immigration reform to increase the size of the workforce.
Kaine also noted that currently, Pell Grant funding — a subsidy the federal government provides for students in need of financial aid — only applies to university education, and suggested that there should also be funding support for technical schools, to increase incentives for skills training.
While addressing the full group of students, Kaine spoke about his motivations and past, including why he is running for reelection and his experience leading Virginia to become increasingly Democratic.
“When [my wife and I] moved here in 1984, Virginia was one of the reddest states in the country,” Kaine said. “Democratic candidates thought they couldn’t win Virginia … and Democrats today have won four presidential elections in a row [in Virginia]. That would have been thought impossible when I moved here, but it's been because of people like you.”
Also in attendance was second-year College student Anna Douglas Piper, who said she enjoyed hearing Kaine give specific answers to questions about important issues currently facing the nation.
“I think it's just so cool to hear somebody who has been in politics for so long speak to students.” Douglas Piper said. “I really appreciated the way that he gave really concrete solutions to a lot of questions that were asked. He was actually talking about concrete things and it was really inspiring to listen to him.”
Kaine also discussed the January 6, 2021 riots at the Capital to share what he believes is at stake in the upcoming elections.
“We're living in a moment where the primary divide is between those who stand up and stand together and those who want to tear us down and tear us apart.” Kaine said. “I was barricaded in the capital of the United States on January 6, and as people were struggling, fighting, encouraged by President Trump to try to overturn the peaceful transfer of power. And I had an epiphany during that — that there’s a battle underway between those who stand up and those who tear down.”
Kaine will face Republican candidate Hung Cao in the general election November 5.
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