Tim Kaine

Tim Kaine, currently chair of the Democratic National Committee and Virginia's former governor, announced Tuesday that he will run for the United States Senate seat being vacated by Democrat Jim Webb. Ending weeks of speculation about his future, Kaine declared his candidacy in the 2012 election in a Web video, just as President Obama did in kicking off his reelection effort Monday. Stressing his roots in the state and his record as governor, Kaine tells supporters that he's running because "America has big challenges, and I'm convinced that Virginia has answers to help strengthen our nation.

WASHINGTON - Democrats retained a narrow majority in the Senate on Tuesday, but Republicans kept their grip on the House, delivering another divided, and highly polarized, Congress. The balance of power was likely to shift by no more than a seat or two, if at all. Neither record-low job approval ratings nor an avalanche of campaign spending appeared able to shake the dynamic that made the last Congress the most partisan since the Civil War. "That's the sort of sad state of affairs: You're not going to have much change in Congress," said Keith Poole, a political science professor at the University of Georgia, who has researched decades of congressional voting patterns.

WASHINGTON -- In one of this year's most closely watched Senate contests, two new independent polls show Democrat Tim Kaine surging into the lead over Republican George Allen in the race to replace retiring Virginia Sen. Jim Webb. A Washington Post poll found Kaine has an 8 percentage point lead over Allen, 51% to 43%. That's a significant shift since May, when the poll found the two candidates - both former governors and well-known names in Virginia politics - tied. A separate Quinnipiac University-CBS News-New York Times poll released Wednesday found Kaine had a 7 percentage point lead over Allen, 51% to 44%. A previous version of that poll, taken in late July and early August, showed Kaine with a smaller, 2 percentage point lead.

Virginia boasts being one of the nation's top battlegrounds for both the presidency and the U.S. Senate, with two of the commonwealth's top political figures butting heads on the ballot. The Senate clash between Republican George Allen and his Democratic opponent, Tim Kaine, brings not only the careers of two former governors to bear against each other but also a wave of outside money. The race was expected to be close. FULL COVERAGE: Election 2012

President-elect Barack Obama has selected Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine as the next chairman of the Democratic National Committee, two Democrats said Sunday. The officials spoke to the Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because the decision had not been officially announced. The Washington Post reported the selection Sunday on its website. Kaine plans to work for the party part time until 2010, when his term as governor is up and he can take over full time. Chairman Howard Dean plans to step down Jan. 21. Kaine campaigned vigorously for Obama in Virginia.

FALLS CHURCH, Va. - Towering in his cowboy boots, Republican George Allen, the son of a revered football coach, marveled at the taste of the salty-sweet chanh muoi lemonade as he courted Vietnamese American small-business owners in his comeback bid for the U.S. Senate, a seat he lost six years ago after he uttered a racial slur. His opponent, Tim Kaine, who volunteered in Honduras as a young law school student, spoke into a camera about "valores" - values in Spanish - for a television ad believed to be the first time a candidate fluent in Spanish directly addressed Latino voters in the Old Dominion.

Hilton Hotels said it had decided to relocate its headquarters from Beverly Hills to Virginia's Fairfax County. Hilton Chief Executive Christopher Nassetta said that Virginia offered the company a more central location for its operations and that the move would help reduce costs. Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine's office said Hilton, which took advantage of financial incentives offered by the state, will invest at least $17 million in the relocation. The company has more than 3,200 hotels in 77 countries and territories.

Virginia boasts being one of the nation's top battlegrounds for both the presidency and the U.S. Senate, with two of the commonwealth's top political figures butting heads on the ballot. The Senate clash between Republican George Allen and his Democratic opponent, Tim Kaine, brings not only the careers of two former governors to bear against each other but also a wave of outside money. The race was expected to be close. FULL COVERAGE: Election 2012

TODAY Good Morning America (N) 7 a.m. KABC The Situation Room With Wolf Blitzer 3 p.m. CNN McLaughlin Group 6:30 p.m. KCET SUNDAY Today Brooks & Dunn. (N) 6 a.m. KNBC Good Morning America (N) 6 a.m. KABC State of the Union With Candy Crowley Midterm elections: Gov. Edward G. Rendell, (D-Pa.); Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-Minn.). Gulf oil disaster: Bob Dudley, BP. 6 and 9 a.m. CNN CBS News Sunday Morning Frédéric Fekkai. (N) 7 a.m. KCBS The Chris Matthews Show Howard Fineman, Newsweek; Norah O'Donnell; Jonathan Alter, Newsweek; Kathleen Parker, the Washington Post.

Terry McAuliffe is known for being loyal. As Hillary Rodham Clinton's longtime friend and campaign manager, he battled on her behalf until the bitter end of her quest for the Democratic presidential nomination. So the former Democratic Party chairman made waves this week when he told a crowd of Virginia Democrats the politician he thought Barack Obama should choose as his vice presidential running mate. It wasn't Clinton -- a possible clue that the senator from New York had been bumped from Obama's list of potential VPs. Instead, according to the Falls Church News-Press:mcauliffe-touts-kaine-for-v-p-in-fairfax-talk&catid=13 :news-stories&Itemid=76, McAuliffe pointed to Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine.

STERLING, Va. - Mitt Romney is the candidate of change? That's malarkey to Joe Biden, who argued Monday that the only change from the Republican nominee is a recent shifting of Romney's positions. With Romney, Biden said, everything now “depends.” “It depends on the weather. It depends on the polls. It depends on how they feel.... The only thing you can be sure of is it will change!” he said. Romney and Rep. Paul D. Ryan, the vice presidential nominee, are like kids “trying to outrun their shadow.” “But they don't know, the only time their shadow catches up with them, when the sun goes down.

FALLS CHURCH, Va. - Towering in his cowboy boots, Republican George Allen, the son of a revered football coach, marveled at the taste of the salty-sweet chanh muoi lemonade as he courted Vietnamese American small-business owners in his comeback bid for the U.S. Senate, a seat he lost six years ago after he uttered a racial slur. His opponent, Tim Kaine, who volunteered in Honduras as a young law school student, spoke into a camera about "valores" - values in Spanish - for a television ad believed to be the first time a candidate fluent in Spanish directly addressed Latino voters in the Old Dominion.

WASHINGTON - The battle for control of the Senate, which had favored Republicans for much of this election year, has abruptly shifted, with Democrats sharply improving their odds of keeping the majority. Along with recent missteps by presidential nominee Mitt Romney, the erosion of Republican prospects in the Senate has contributed to a grim feeling among party activists that an election year that once held out the possibility of regaining full control of the government could be souring on them.

Voters in Virginia are the latest to get a taste of an increasingly popular type of political attack: the anonymous text message. "Tim Kaine calls for radical new tax on all Americans," reads a text message attacking the Democratic candidate in the hotly contested Virginia Senate race. Aside from being false -- Politifact recently debunked a similar claim by Kaine's Republican opponent, George Allen -- the message came from an email address that used portions of Kaine's name, giving the appearance that the message might have come from Kaine himself.

WASHINGTON -- In one of this year's most closely watched Senate contests, two new independent polls show Democrat Tim Kaine surging into the lead over Republican George Allen in the race to replace retiring Virginia Sen. Jim Webb. A Washington Post poll found Kaine has an 8 percentage point lead over Allen, 51% to 43%. That's a significant shift since May, when the poll found the two candidates - both former governors and well-known names in Virginia politics - tied. A separate Quinnipiac University-CBS News-New York Times poll released Wednesday found Kaine had a 7 percentage point lead over Allen, 51% to 44%. A previous version of that poll, taken in late July and early August, showed Kaine with a smaller, 2 percentage point lead.

WASHINGTON -- Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel will address the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., next month, organizers said Monday. The convention is set to run Sept. 4-6. Democratic Party officials did not announce a date or time for Emanuel's speech, and an to the mayor said those details had not yet been set. Emanuel was President Obama's first chief of staff and earlier served as a Democratic congressman. The first two days of the convention are to be at Time Warner Cable Arena.

WASHINGTON -- Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel will address the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., next month, organizers said Monday. The convention is set to run Sept. 4-6. Democratic Party officials did not announce a date or time for Emanuel's speech, and an to the mayor said those details had not yet been set. Emanuel was President Obama's first chief of staff and earlier served as a Democratic congressman. The first two days of the convention are to be at Time Warner Cable Arena.

Speculation about the Democratic and Republican vice presidential candidates, and the timing of the announcements, reached a fever pitch Monday in the news media and among politics junkies. Even with the Democratic convention coming up in a week, most indications were that Barack Obama would wait until at least Thursday to disclose his choice. There was no official comment from the Obama camp. Much of the chatter focused on three possible picks: Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, Delaware Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh.

Virginia's heavyweight Senate match between two former governors could be one of the clearest tests of a Republican campaign strategy of tying Democratic candidates to President Obama this fall. In the race for Virginia's open Democratic Senate seat, Tim Kaine, a close Obama ally and the president's first Democratic national chairman, is facing Republican George Allen, who lost the seat in 2006 after a campaign gaffe that captured the rise of YouTube as a political weapon. Allen secured the Republican nomination this week against light primary opposition.

President Obama soaked up a fair amount of love on his bus tour through swing-state country.  What was unusual about the trip, though, was the dearth of Democratic elected officials at his Virginia events. Indeed, the most prominent official who turned out for one of Obama's appearances was the state's Republican governor,Bob McDonnell. McDonnell showed up at Obama's appearance at an air base inHampton on Wednesday morning. “Finally, I want to acknowledge your governor, Bob McDonnell, and his lovely wife, Maureen, for joining us here today," the president said.