Democrat Senator Tim Kaine Says He Will Seek Another Term

Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) said on Friday that he would seek another term in the United States Senate when he is up for reelection in 2024.

“I’m happy to announce that I will seek re-election in 2024 to keep delivering results for Virginia! I love the Commonwealth and its citizens and want to keep being your Senator,” Kaine said on Twitter. “I hope to earn your support once again to battle for Virginia priorities in Congress.”

I’m happy to announce that I will seek re-election in 2024 to keep delivering results for Virginia! I love the Commonwealth and its citizens and want to keep being your Senator. I hope to earn your support once again to battle for Virginia priorities in Congress.

— Tim Kaine (@timkaine) January 20, 2023

The Virginia Democrat’s announcement that he will seek a third term in the upper chamber is a sign of relief for some, as his party is already planning to spend millions on more challenging seats such as Sen. Joe Manchin’s West Virginia seat, Sen. Sherrod Brown’s Ohio seat, and Sen. Jon Tester’s Montana seat.

As Breitbart News has noted, in 2024, the Senate Democrats will have to try to keep, if not expand, their 51-seat majority. That would involve potentially spending millions on protecting Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), who has already been fielding potential primary challengers after recently changing her party to Independent. In addition to there being open seats due to members retiring, some Democrat senators will be running in states that have turned redder over the years — such as Manchin.

Kaine, who served as Hillary Clinton’s running mate in her 2016 presidential campaign, told the Washington Post that his decision to run again was not made lightly and that he spent a lot of time consulting with his family, friends, and Democrat colleagues. While many of the people he spoke to had hoped he would run, he alluded to both being done and having more work to do after being energized by his constituents around the state.

“Man, I’ve got more I wanna do,” he told the Post. “I’ve got to be honest and look in the mirror and say, ‘Have I done everything I wanted to get done?’ And the answer is, no I haven’t.”

Kaine stated when asked about the pressure he got from his colleagues to run:

I think it was Abraham Lincoln who said, ‘I’m a slow walker, but when I do walk, I don’t turn back.’ Having made the decision, I’m all in. I’m ready to run very, very vigorously. I’m ready to keep serving very vigorously. Some people were pretty patient with me as I was making my decision, and I really appreciate that.

While no Republicans have officially announced they will run against Kaine, it has been rumored among GOP circles that Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) is thinking of running for the position. Youngkin, a little over a year into his term as governor, won by two points against former governor Terry McAuliffe (D) in 2021. Since then, he’s been traveling around the state — and country.