99-Year-Old Beats Tim Kaine to Cast 1st Ballot at Virginia Polling Site

The U.S. senator and former Virginia governor and his wife, Anne Holton, voted shortly after polls opened at 6 a.m. at a retirement community near their home

Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine thought he'd be the first in line at his polling site in his hometown of Richmond, Virginia, but another voter managed to get there before him early Tuesday. 

"I wanted to be first at my polling place, but 99-year-old Minerva Turpin beat me to it. Looks like I need to get used to being number two!" Kaine said in a tweet that also included a photo of Turpin placing an "I Voted" sticker on Kaine's jacket. 

The U.S. senator and former Virginia governor and his wife, Anne Holton, voted shortly after polls opened at 6 a.m. at a retirement community near their home.

Kaine was cheered by supporters waiting in line. 

After voting, he spoke to reporters where he encouraged Americans to vote and said that if elected, he and running mate Hillary Clinton would try and bring the country together. 

"The sign of a vigorous democracy is one where a lot of people participate," Kaine said.

After casting his ballot, Kaine also did a round of national morning TV shows, saying he and Clinton can clinch the White House if they win any one of the "checkmate" states.

Tuesday is the day that American voters will decide who’ll be their next president – Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump. Polls already open in states across the Eastern U.S. are seeing lines of voters form as people prepare to cast their ballots. (Nov. 8)

Kaine said on ABC's "Good Morning America" that the battleground states of North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Florida and Ohio each hold the key to a win for the Democratic running mates. 

He said Tuesday's election is a "history-making race" but he also warned against complacency, saying that "democracy always works better when people participate."

But Kaine wasn't letting the biggest election of his life get in the way of his Tuesday routine. 

[NATL] Highlights From the 2016 Campaign Trail

After voting and doing a round of TV shows, Kaine met a group of friends for breakfast at the City Diner in Richmond.

Kaine and his friends try to meet every Tuesday at the diner, a few miles from his home. He was greeted with cheers as he walked into the restaurant.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
Contact Us