Hillary Clinton's vice-presidential running mate, Tim Kaine, is under increased scrutiny after the Democratic candidate's pneumonia issue.
"Tim Kaine has to step up his game," Rice University presidential historian Douglas Brinkley told The New York Times.
"He's such an unknown quantity to the American people that he now has to kind of assume the mantle of what it would be like to have him as commander in chief, not just vice president."
Kaine is now a Senator from Virginia. He was the mayor of Richmond and became Virginia's lieutenant governor and governor before he joined the Senate in 2012. A CNN poll earlier in September shows he has a way to go to gain recognition from some voters; 16 percent of voters in the poll have never heard of him, while 21 percent have no opinion of him.
St. Louis University law professor Joel K. Goldstein, an expert on the vice presidency, told the Times that Clinton's pneumonia should make voters more aware of the vice president's role.
"It should remind people of the importance of the two vice-presidential candidates, and whether they are appropriate presidential successors based on their experience, skill, character, and substantive views," Goldstein said.
While on the campaign trail, Kaine appears to still express surprise that he's been chosen. At a Virginia appearance, he recalled when Clinton asked him to be her vice president. He said he told her, "I mean, like, 'Wow, what? You want me? Are you kidding?'"
Voters need reason to be confident in the candidate's vice presidential choice, according to Princeton history and public affairs professor Julian E. Zelizer.
"You don't want a Sarah Palin situation where voters really have doubts about the second person on the ticket," Zelizer said.
The Times reported that Kaine said Clinton's pneumonia did not make him feel additional pressure to convince voters that he is ready to be president. He continues to defend her health.
"I've just been on the campaign since July 22. Hillary Clinton has been on the campaign trail for 18 months. Her energy staggers me. I have a hard time keeping up with her," Kaine said.
Kaine made his debut in the Democratic presidential campaign's radio advertising while speaking in Spanish, according to The Washington Post. The ad focuses on Latino voters and is airing in Florida, Ohio, and Nevada, where Latino support is vital, the Post said.
The New York Times reported that on Oct. 4, Kaine will debate Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's running mate Mike Pence.
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