Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine (Va.) said the Democratic Party should take notes from campaigns in Virginia after a survey found the party was struggling in popularity.
Kaine joined CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday, where he was asked by host Jake Tapper about a recent poll from Quinnipiac University that found the American people largely have an unfavorable view of the Democratic Party, the lowest received by the party in the survey’s history.
“I’m a Virginian and I know one state well, and not so well the other 49,” Kaine said. “In Virginia, we’ve gone from one of the most ruby-red states in the country to … having put electoral votes behind Democrats five elections in a row. I just won my reelection by a sizeable margin against Donald Trump’s hand-picked Republican opponent.”
In Virginia, Kaine said, Democratic candidates focus on the issues that matter to the people, particularly the economy.
“I think sometimes national Democrats don’t,” he said.
“We focus on competent government and running the economy in a great way that focuses on innovation and advancing,” Kaine continued. “We have what we call a ‘make, build, grow agenda.'”
He criticized Republicans talking about cutting taxes and regulation and said he believes Democratic candidates don’t often enough emphasize how they will actually implement economic ideas.
“Let’s return to the bread-and-butter basics that people want to really focus on, and I think the Democrats can do well, especially when Donald Trump’s tariffs are driving up their prices every day,” Kaine said.
Tapper pushed back, arguing that not all of Virginia was electing Democratic candidates, pointing to Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican.
Kaine noted that Youngkin didn’t win by a comfortable margin, and he believes Democrats may be able to win in the gubernatorial race later this year.
“I think the governor’s race in Virginia, November 2025, will be the first bellwether test of a Democratic comeback, and I’m feeling really, really good about that right now,” Kaine said.
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