For the second year in a row, the Democratic Party of Virginia's Jefferson-Jackson Dinner was all about former Gov. Timothy M. Kaine.
Last year, Kaine took the stage to chants of "Run, Tim, run!" while reluctantly mulling a U.S. Senate bid shortly after Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., announced he would not seek re-election.
On Saturday night, Kaine delivered an optimistic keynote address as his party's presumptive nominee with a rock star's reception from the crowd of 1,300, nearly all of whom wore "TK4VA" stickers.
The state's largest annual gathering of Democrats and the party's biggest fundraiser, the event at the Greater Richmond Convention Center brought in $350,000 for the party.
Kaine focused chiefly on his message of improving the economy through breeding and recruiting talent, restoring fiscal responsibility and finding common ground in Washington. He also aggressively attacked his likely opponent, fellow former Gov. George Allen.
"The word bipartisan has never been put in the same paragraph as George Allen's name," Kaine said, speaking to the division that dominates Washington. He also accused Allen of running up the national deficit by increasing spending while slashing taxes as a U.S. senator.
While Allen has pounded on Kaine, the former Democratic National Committee chairman, for his ties to President Barack Obama, Kaine did anything but run from the president, offering a laundry list of Obama's accomplishments.
"We've got so much to be proud of," he said.
Sen. Mark R. Warner, D-Va., delivered an uncharacteristically aggressive speech, dinging Republicans on the state and national level.
"Could you ever have imagined this Republican presidential nominating process?" he said, eliciting laughs from the crowd. "I sometimes wonder if every one of the late-night comedians are secretly funding a super PAC to keep it going."
Warner also blasted Republican state lawmakers, who now control the Virginia Senate in addition to the House and governorship, accusing them of focusing on social issues like abortion and voting as well as adoption limitations that he said target gay couples.
"These are not the kind of policies to move Virginia forward," he said, accusing Republicans of creating "phony problems."
Warner, who is rumored to be mulling a 2016 presidential bid, was cagey when asked.
"I'm just a junior senator trying to get this bipartisan deficit deal done," he said with a wide smile.
Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer, known for vetoing bills with a cattle brand, was the event's other keynote speaker.
As attendees dined, Schweitzer mingled by tables in the back of the ballroom in blue jeans and a bolo tie, joking with the media that he was offering them money to pay attention to his speech.
"These people look like they'd take a $5 bet," he said in his distinctly Montana accent.
Kidding aside, Schweitzer said Virginia would play perhaps the most pivotal role in this year's presidential election.
"These Virginia Democrats are going to decide who's going to be the next president," he said.
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