It can’t be a good day for Tim Kaine.
The governor-by-day, partisan-by-chief by night and weekend lost, and lost big, big, big, and in his home state, in his first election as the chair of the Democratic National Committee.
Might it be his last?
“There’s already a sense among some Democrats that however good a person is, however bright a guy, Tim Kaine is, whether this is the best fit for his personality and skill has been an open question. And those questions have been getting louder,” said Bob Holsworth, a political scientist and founder and president of Virginia Tomorrow.
And those questions aren’t just related to the historic Creigh Deed gubernatorial-race defeat on Tuesday. Sure, having your successor as gubernatorial nominee go down in flames like Deeds did, getting outspent by several million dollars and then soundly defeated at the polls by Republican Bob McDonnell, isn’t something you include on the old resume.
But Holsworth said Democrats on Capitol Hill have had issues with the Kaine chairmanship almost since it was announced last year.
“The comparison point for Kaine is Howard Dean. Who wasn’t a good presidential candidate, but was an excellent party chair, who seemed to relish the back-and-forth on policy issues in the media. Tim Kaine is looked at as almost being too cerebral for that,” Holsworth said.
– Column by Chris Graham
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