Election 2016: Tim Kaine One of First in Line Tuesday, Votes in Richmond

RICHMOND, VA — A standard image on Election Day — a candidate on the presidential ticket ending the long campaign with their vote at the local polling place — got wrapped up early by one half of the Democratic ticket on Tuesday.

The vice presidential running mate for Hillary Clinton, Sen. Tim Kaine, reportedly arrived 15 minutes before polls opened early Tuesday morning to cast his vote at his Richmond precinct. Kaine held two rallies in Virginia on Monday in Fairfax and Richmond. He'll travel to New York City for Clinton's event at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center on Election Night.

Kaine and his wife, Anne Holton, voted Tuesday morning at the Hermitage Methodist Home, but he wasn't first in line.

A U.S. senator liked on both sides of the aisle, as well as a former governor, lieutenant governor and mayor, Kaine was thought of as a "safe pick" and his selection for the Democratic ticket helped remove Virginia from the list of toss-up states.

Kaine has never lost an election. If Clinton wins Tuesday night, Gov. Terry McAuliffe will select a temporary replacement for Kaine. Virginia voters will head to the polls in 2017 to elect a senator for a 1-year-term.

• Hillary Clinton Selects Tim Kaine as Her Vice Presidential Running Mate
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“There is so much of what Tim refers to as demographic anxiety,” Anne Holton told Patch in a recent interview. “People see their world changing and it makes them nervous. This is the time we need people to lead people in a positive way."

Holton says that making history involves taking a chance, involves being willing to take a stand.

"In 2007, Tim stood in Richmond, in the shadow of the Confederacy, and became the first elected official outside of Illinois to endorse Barack Obama. You have to be willing to stand up for what you believe," she says, noting this election is no different. “We have a chance to show ourselves and the world the kind of country we want to be.”

Photo by Gage Skidmore