Tim Kaine

Tim Kaine (1958-) is Governor of Virginia and Chairman of the Democratic National Committee. His term as governor expires in 2009, and a Virginia governor cannot have a consecutive term.

He entered politics in 1994, from the private practice of law, specializing in fair housing, and taught legal ethics for six years at the University of Richmond Law School. After serving four terms on the Richmond City Council, he was elected Lieutenant Governor of Virginia. In Virginia, as opposed to many U.S. states, theGovernor and Lieutenant Governor are elected separately and may be political opponent; he enjoyed a close working relationship with, and endorsement by, his predecessor, Mark Warner.

For the 2008-2009 term, he was chair of the Southern Governors Association, where he was focused on addressing climate change in the South.

Born in Kansas City, Missouri, he married Anne Holton, daughter of Linwood Holton, the Virginia Governor between 1970 and 1974, the only person to have lived in the Governor's Mansion as a child and adult.