Anne Holton, Tim Kaine’s wife, isn’t eyeing the Senate seat her husband would leave empty if he wins the vice presidency.
“I’ll tell you a secret: The vice president is the president of the Senate,” she told NH1, a CNN affiliate in New Hampshire. “I will never let (my) husband be my boss.”
Holton, an attorney and judge, has political experience of her own.
Until her husband joined Hillary Clinton’s presidential ticket this summer, she served as education secretary in Virginia. She said she resigned the post to devote her full energy to the campaign. Holton also saw the workings of government from the governor’s mansion, where she lived for two stints when her father and husband held the executive role.
Gender dynamics is a topic her husband frequently touches on as he runs alongside Clinton, who of course would be the first woman elected to the presidency.
“One of the exciting things about this race for him and me both, is that, as he says, he’s had strong women, including myself thank you very much, supporting him throughout his many political roles, and now, it’s a chance to do a turnaround,” Holton said earlier this month. “And he relishes the opportunity to be in the supportive role.”
At least 48 women have either been appointed or elected to their husbands’ seats in the House and Senate, according to Kathy Kleeman of the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University. Only one — Rep. Debbie Dingell — succeeded her husband — Rep. John Dingell — during his lifetime.
According to the center, the number of times a husband has assumed his wife’s seat in Congress: Zero.