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Sen. Tim Kaine has been stuck for over 24 hours in Virginia's I-95 winter traffic back up

Brent D. Griffiths   

Sen. Tim Kaine has been stuck for over 24 hours in Virginia's I-95 winter traffic back up
  • Sen. Tim Kaine is among hundreds of motorists stranded on a Virginia interstate.
  • A severe winter storm has left Virginia officials scrambling to reopen parts of I-95.

Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia said on Tuesday that he has been stuck in a winter storm traffic back-up in Northern Virginia for more than 24 hours, making him one of the hundreds of motorists who have been left stranded on I-95.

"I started my normal 2 hour drive to DC at 1pm yesterday. 19 hours later, I'm still not near the Capitol," Kaine wrote on Twitter. He later added, "I'm frustrated, but not in serious trouble."

Just before 2 p.m., the Huffington Post's Igor Bobic reported that Kaine could be stuck in traffic for another couple of hours.

Virginia's Department of Transportation urged drivers to stay in their cars amid frigid temperatures as both sides of I-95 remained closed near Fredericksburg. Insider previously reported that some motorists said they were running out of fuel for heating, and were without food or water.

In an interview with DC radio station WTOP, Kaine refused to criticize Gov. Ralph Northam, a fellow Democrat who is in his last few days in office, for not bringing in the National Guard.

"We're so packed on the interstate that it's really hard to get an emergency vehicle and to get a car that's disabled," Kaine said. "And so then that becomes a block for others."

Politico reported that the Senate has delayed votes as Kaine remained stranded. The senator also offered an update on the state of his predicament, saying a Connecticut family who was similarly ensnared in traffic offered him an orange.

Northam wrote on Twitter that state officials are working to reopen the interstate and are teaming up with local communities to "open warming shelters as needed."

Kaine was former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's running mate in 2016. A former Virginia governor, he has spent nearly three decades rising in Virginia politics from starting out as a Richmond city councilor to his US Senate election in 2012.

His office did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

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