The country is anxiously awaiting the second round of presidential debates ahead of the 2016 general election, but all eyes will be on the vice presidential candidates Tuesday night as they square off for the first time.
Hillary Clinton’s running mate Tim Kaine and Donald Trump’s right hand Mike Pence will go head to head on several important issues and give voters a chance to hear from them both directly ahead of election day next moth. While we get ready to tune in, here are 10 facts about each of the nominees to bring you up to speed.
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Tim Kaine (D)
1. He served as governor of Virginia from 2006-2010.
2. He is personally against abortion, but is a strong supporter of Roe vs. Wade in accordance with his belief that the law should not intervene in women’s reproductive decisions.
3. He has attended the predominantly Black St. Elizabeth’s Roman Catholic Church in Virginia for 30 years.
4. He shut down state funding for abstinence-only sex education programs in 2007, deeming them as ineffective.
5. He opposes the death penalty.
6. He supports regulation of the financial industry, specifically measures intended to level the playing field for community banks and credit unions.
7. He supports more detailed background checks for gun owners.
8. He voted in favor of President Obama’s 2012 Affordable Care Act.
9. He is in favor of increasing the minimum wage.
10. He stated in August of 2016 that white people must “put themselves in the place where we are the minority” to properly take responsibility for racism.
Mike Pence (R)
1. He served as Governor of Indiana from 2012 – 2016.
2. Introduced legislation aimed towards defunding Planned Parenthood in 2007.
3. He was one of 25 Republicans to vote against the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act.
4. He was an advocate for Indiana’s first state-funded preschool program.
5. He voted against President Obama’s 2012 Affordable Care Act.
6. In 2013, he enacted legislation that increased the number of students who qualified for school vouchers.
7. He has 2 daughters and one son.
8. He and his wife have been married for 31 years.
9. Pence has done little to regulate Indiana’s voter suppression laws, which disproportionately affect African-American residents.
10. Pence has been criticized for Indiana’s lack of initiatives to improve education for Black children in Indiana. The state also currently leads the country in school suspensions of Black males for minor infractions.