Virginia Democrat Tim Kaine will seek a third term in the Senate, he announced Friday.
“I have been really grappling with what to do with respect to my time in the Senate. And I’m very happy to announce that I’m going to run for a third term in the Senate. It’s an unusual decision, and as Anne and I work through it really mostly since the midterms, she pointed out one of the reasons it’s hard is it’s an eight-year decision,” Kaine told reporters.
“Most of the decisions you make in your life, they’re not eight-year decisions. They’re like for next year or for next week. I make decisions about tomorrow sometimes. But a Senate term is two years of campaigning and then six years of serving and you got to really approach it carefully. Here’s why in conversations with friends, and especially with Anne and my family I’ve decided to run for a third term. I’m a servant. I love Virginia, I’m proud of what I’ve done. I got a whole lot more I want to do,” he continued.
NEWS: Sen. Tim Kaine will announce in Richmond tomorrow whether he’s running for re-election in 2024. If he doesn’t run, will put yet another seat up for grabs in an already-difficult 2024 map for Dems.
We’ve been talking w/ sources today on this — much more in @PunchbowlNews PM
— Andrew Desiderio (@AndrewDesiderio) January 19, 2023
A former governor, Kaine was first elected to the upper chamber in 2012. He won reelection in 2018 by 16 points. Kaine also served as the Democratic vice presidential nominee in 2016. (RELATED: Sen. Tim Kaine Was Stuck On Highway For Over 27 Hours In Snowstorm)
Democrats are defending 23 Senate seats in 2024, including those belonging to Independents Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Angus King of Maine. Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, and Jon Tester of Montana are defending seats in states that Donald Trump won during the 2020 presidential election.
Although Virginia swung blue during the 2010s, Republican Glenn Youngkin won its governorship in 2021. The GOP also took back control of the Virginia House of Delegates.