Did Kaine actually help?

[Stranger in a strange land]

Let's be real for a minute here. There was only one correct choice for Hillary's VP: when your primary opponent is getting record enthusiasm, raising huge sums of money through small donations, and drawing even bigger crowds than Trump, it should be clear that his message is resonating and that you need him on the ticket in order to fire up the activist base and get them out in force. It was dumb of her not to pick Bernie, and not shoring up her Left Flank was what cost her the election. Add to that it would have united the party and greatly limited the Wikileaks/DNC hack damage.

[Stranger in a strange land]

I actually personally think if it weren't for Kaine, she might have actually lost Virginia, in the early returns it was leaning for Trump, but she came back to win it later on.

That happens every election cycle with Northern Virginia coming in last.

Yes compounded by the fact that rural VA swung hard against Clinton, just like rural areas all over the country did. Trump got blown out in NOVA as expected, and even though VA wasn't called until late in the evening, Clinton actually ended up winning it by about six points. Really it's just a more extreme version of what's happened in every election in Virginia since 2006.