1995: Daughter Annella is born.

1996: Re-elected to Richmond City Council.

1998: Elected mayor in an 8-1 vote by the City Council, re-elected to City Council; Anne Holton becomes a judge in Richmond’s juvenile and domestic relations district court.

2000: Re-elected to City Council, which again selects him as mayor.

2001: Resigns from City Council to campaign for lieutenant governor; defeats Del. Jay Katzen, R-Fauquier.

2005: Elected governor, beating Republican Jerry Kilgore, a former state attorney general; and independent Russ Potts, a state senator from Winchester.

2007: On Feb. 17, Kaine becomes the first governor outside Illinois to endorse Barack Obama for president.

On April 16, Seung-Hui Cho kills 32 students and faculty members at Virginia Tech before taking his own life. Kaine and his wife fly home from a trade mission in Japan. Kaine and President George W. Bush address a memorial service on campus.