VIRGINIA (Reuters) - As presumptive Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton moves toward a final decision for V-P before the Democratic convention in Philadelphia July 25-28, she headed out on the campaign trail on Thursday (July 14) with US Senator Tim Kaine, where the two appeared at a rally in Northern Virginia.

Thursday's event with Mr Kaine gave Mrs Clinton an opportunity to gauge whether the 58-year-old Harvard-educated senator would help her fire up a crowd and make for a comfortable fit on the campaign trail.

Mr Kaine is widely seen as the "safe choice" to become Hillary Clinton's vice-presidential running mate, and that may be the biggest mark against him.

With a resume that includes a stint as a missionary in Honduras before becoming a civil rights lawyer, he could help Clinton check a lot of boxes in the list of requirements for a running mate.

Fluent in Spanish, he could build on her efforts to reach out to Latino voters. He is also affable, savvy about foreign policy and has executive experience as a former governor of Virginia and a former mayor of Richmond, the state's capital.

And as a Virginian, he could help Clinton win a battleground state in the Nov 8 race against Republican Donald Trump.

He is the obvious safe choice, according to many Democratic members of Congress. Tthough the Clinton campaign is keeping the vice-presidential selection process tightly under wraps, many Democrats in Washington see Mr Kaine as the front-runner.