Anne Holton, Tim Kaine's wife, resigned as Virginia's education secretary. | Getty Kaine's wife resigns Virginia state position, joins campaign

Vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine’s wife has resigned her post as Virginia’s education secretary — just as Kaine gets ready to formally accept the Democratic Party’s nomination for vice president.

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe announced Anne Holton's resignation on Tuesday. In a statement, the governor hailed Holton as a “tireless advocate” for students and “an essential leader in securing historic investments in public education.”


“During her tenure, Anne has been a constant and powerful voice for students, teachers and schools, and her lifelong dedication to serving Virginia’s young people, especially the children at the margins, has had a lasting impact in the Commonwealth,” McAuliffe said.

Kaine's wife, Anne Holton, is a political heavyweight in Virginia in her own right, with a profile that extends well beyond her recent position as education secretary.

She has even been talked up as a potential replacement for Kaine's Senate seat should he become vice president, a position that McAullife would fill. A special election would then occur in 2017 — and then again in 2018 when Kaine's term runs out.

Holton is the daughter of a former Virginia governor, and is well-accustomed to being in the public eye. Holton is also a compelling part of the life narrative that Kaine is selling to voters.

Before becoming education secretary in 2014, Holton spent seven years on the judicial bench. but her involvement in political life dates back to her preteen years, when she helped integrate Richmond, Va., schools.

Holton’s father was Republican Virginia Gov. Linwood Holton, who sent his children to nearly all-black schools in 1970 as he worked to implement a federal judge's ordered to desegregate Richmond Public Schools. An iconic photo of the governor shows him walking Holton’s sister, Tayloe, to school. Holton credits the experience of being one of the first white children to attend Mosby Middle School with inspiring her life in public service.

Already, Hillary Clinton and Kaine have showcased her story as they seek to bridge the divide with progressives and introduce Kaine to voters. When Clinton officially announced Kaine as her running mate at a Miami rally on Saturday, she called Holton a "brilliant wife, who is a gifted fighter for progressive causes in her own right."

Kaine told the crowd that Gov. Holton's desegregation efforts and the decision to send his kids to Richmond public schools took "political courage." He said it sent a signal that her father wasn't going to back down, take half steps, or "make rules for others that he wasn't going to follow for himself."

He said marrying Holton "was and remains the best decision of my life."

Holton has never held elected office herself, and her political views are not widely known. But even if she had been outspoken on progressive causes, it’s unlikely that would reassure the left wing of the Democratic party, which has been lukewarm at best about Kaine’s selection as VP because of his centrist leanings.

“Unless she’s Superwoman, I can’t imagine that the president’s choice for vice president’s spouse is a key factor,” said Jeff Cohen, a spokesman for the Bernie Delegates Network, an independent group which represents about 1,200 delegates. “The presidential candidate’s choice of Tim Kaine isn’t going over well.”

Still, Holton's story could resonate with many in the civil rights community.

Holton’s father had a motto: “Opportunity Time.” He’d wake his children in the morning with that phrase, and the family viewed the chance to integrate schools as the ultimate “Opportunity Time,” according to a 2012 interview Holton gave to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Holton played in the school band, and started a cheering squad.

“We did all the things normal middle-schoolers do, but it was my first chance to get to know students whose lives were pretty different from mine, and that was invaluable,” Holton said.

Holton, who graduated from Princeton University in 1980, met Kaine at Harvard law school and convinced him to move to her home state. The two married in 1984 at St. Elizabeth Catholic Church in Richmond, a predominantly black church, where they remain active members. They have three grown children.

While Kaine has a “very charismatic component to him,” Holton is more reserved, said Delores McQuinn, who served with Kaine on the Richmond city council and is now a delegate in the Virginia House.

The two view themselves as a unit in parenting and supporting each other professionally, McQuinn said.

“They were so much of a team, and it was evident in how they operated,” McQuinn said. “Even though they were moving in their own direction in terms of a profession, I think it was quite evident that truly there was a strong bond there.”

After working as a legal aid attorney, Holton spent seven years as a judge in Richmond’s Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court. During her term, she was part of a group that improved court processing of abuse and neglect foster cases.

She resigned as a judge after Kaine’s 2005 election as governor. But as Virginia’s first lady, one of her signature issues was finding permanent families for foster care teens.

“I admire the fight and resiliency of foster care children, they have such spirit,” Holton told a radio show in 2012. “They inspired me when Tim was elected governor, to step down from the bench and work with his administration to champion a cause that I cared about, highlight the circumstances of these young people, and connect Virginia children with good homes.”

Judging by a 2008 email, Holton also sometimes served as an adviser to her husband on other matters. In the email, she flagged for her husband a Washington Post article that described how $4 a gallon gas had prompted a surge in people carpooling and using public transportation.

“This is a huge opportunity to make lemonade of the lemons of rising gas prices,” she wrote. “I hope/trust your VDOT folks are thinking about any creative, immediate ways even without $$$ to support this trend.”

Kaine replied by forwarding his wife’s message to the members of his administration’s inner circle.

“Anne makes a good point,” he wrote. “I have been emphasizing the need for more transit and the fact that the increases in demand have been so significant with increases in gas prices. We should continue to push this in both the regional plans and the Transportation Change Fund.”

Kaine was elected to the Senate in 2012, and two years later Holton was named Virginia’s education secretary by McAuliffe, the governor. During her tenure, McAuliffe signed legislation to reduce state-required standardized tests and to eliminate an A-to-F grading system for schools. Holton and McAuliffe have also promoted redesigning high schools to be more focused on preparing students for the workforce and providing opportunities for college credit.

Holton has also pushed for greater funding for teachers' salaries and public schools, and has opposed expanding the number of charter schools in the state, according to the Washington Post.

Holton is very deliberate in how she operates, said Meg Kruber, the president of the Virginia Education Association teachers union. Kruber recently spent two years working on an education committee for the state, and she said Holton made sure diverse views were included. One of Holton’s strengths is understanding the needs of impoverished children, Kruber said.

“I think she could build a bridge with anyone," Kruber said. "She has that ability.”

Holton’s also a good listener, which is a skill she seemingly sharpened on the bench, said Gaylene Kanoyton, president of the NAACP branch in Hampton, Va., who met with Holton to discuss changes in federal education law, and share the views of the civil rights community.

“I think she’s accustomed to listening to all the facts,” Kanoyton said. “She doesn’t jump to conclusions. She gathers all her facts and does her research before she makes a decision on anything.”

Darren Samuelsohn contributed to this report.