The Democratic presidential candidate, who'll be formally nominated Tuesday night at her party's national convention in Philadelphia, is certainly no newcomer to federal government. She was a U.S. senator from New York from 2001-09 and served as secretary of state under President Barack Obama from 2009-13 after running against him in 2008 primaries. She’s also a former First Lady who lived in the White House from 1993–2001 when her husband Bill led the country. Now she makes history as the first female major party nominee for that office.

This past weekend, Clinton introduced her newly picked running mate – Timothy Kaine, a U.S. senator from Virginia and past governor there. At a Miami rally, Clinton said her choice contrasts with Republican nominee Donald Trump and his running mate, Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana. "Sen. Tim Kaine is everything Donald Trump and Mike Pence are not," she said. "He is qualified to step into this job and lead on day one." Even a Republican colleague in the Senate, Jeff Flake of Arizona, called him "a good man" in a tweet and said he’s "drawing a blank" on reasons to dislike him.

The four-day Democratic event starts Monday, a week after the Republicans opened their Cleveland convention. Clinton now uses a line from a Florida senator's closing-night address at the Ohio arena. "I never thought I'd say these words, but Ted Cruz was right," she says before and quoted his words: "Vote your conscience." Cruz, a primary season opponent, pointedly didn't endorse his party's nominee.

Each night in Philadelphia will feature prominent speakers in prime time, starting with First Lady Michelle Obama and Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont (a primary season rival) on Monday. Husband Bill Clinton is in Tuesday's lineup, followed by President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden on Wednesday. For the closing act, Chelsea Clinton will praise her mom before the nominee gives her acceptance speech.

Clinton says: "When you pulled back the curtain [last week in Cleveland], it was just Donald Trump with nothing to offer the American people."

Columnist says: "You can never take away the fact that she was the one who made the idea of a woman becoming president so normal that many young women are bored by it." – Gail Collins, New York Times

Convention site: Wells Fargo Center is home of the Philadelphia Flyers hockey team and the Philadelphia 76ers basketball team. It's the first presidential nominating session in Philadelphia since 1948.