Kaine Rallies Fla Dems

While Virginia Republicans spent the weekend getting energized for the state's off-year elections this fall, Gov. Tim Kaine flew to Miami Beach to try to set the groundwork for Democratic wins across the nation next year.

Kaine, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, was the keynote speaker at the Democrats' Jefferson-Jackson dinner last night in Florida, where five statewide offices are on the ballot next year.

Kaine told the crowd of 1,100 that he was looking forward to helping the Democrats win back the Florida governor's mansion -- which will be vacated by Republican Charlie Crist who plans to run for U.S. Senate -- in one of the nation's battleground states.

"I understand your current governor has decided that he's had enough after a couple of years. The economy is tough, and there's tough decisions to be made and he wants to leave those to somebody else. Hey, we're glad to take it," said Kaine, according to the Associated Press. "We do very well at coming in to tough situations that others have left."