Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) will campaign for U.S. Sen. Barack Obama in December, the weekend before Christmas, just days before some states begin to pick presidential nominees.

"I think he has great momentum,'' Kaine said this morning on his "Ask the Governor" call-in show on WTOP. "He is peaking in Iowa at the right time."

But Kaine said that despite doing better in the polls, Obama is still the "underdog" against U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton. He declined to call Clinton a "drag" on the Democratic party in Virginia where Democratic officeholders are generally moderate but said Clinton needs to appeal more to those moderates and independents.

In February, Kaine became one of the first sitting governors in the country to endorse Obama's candidacy. Kaine and Obama, who first met during the governor's 2005 campaign, both attended Harvard. Obama's mother is from Kansas, where Kaine grew up.

Kaine spent a weekend in Iowa earlier this month, attending a series of coffees and small meetings for Obama in Cedar Rapids, Vinton, Waverly, Charles City, Osage, Mason City, Algona, Fort Dodge and Webster City.

Kaine, one of Obama's national co-chairmen, said he plans to campaign in either New Hampshire or South Carolina next month.

By Anita Kumar  |  November 27, 2007; 11:12 AM ET
Categories:  Anita Kumar , Election 2008/President , Timothy M. Kaine Share This:  E-Mail | Technorati | Del.icio.us | Digg | Stumble Previous: Senator May Give Up His Seat
Next: Ferguson Heads to Lottery

The comments to this entry are closed.