The Kaine pick was all about Virginia. Believe it or not, Kaine is popular in his home state. In fact, I don’t believe he has ever lost an election in Virginia.
But, even with Kaine on the ticket, Trump still came within 5.4 of taking the state.
https://www.nytimes.com/elections/2016/results/virginia
In 2020, Trump just might win Virginia.
If he does(and gets Florida), Trump won’t need Michigan, Wisconsin, or Pennsylvania... but it still would be nice to get them.
Never understood why Kaine was popular in VA. I remember him as pretty much a “do nothing”.
Though it has been said that the Va governorship is a weak governorship by state constitutional design therefore by definition a “do nothing” position.