CHARLOTTE, N.C. _ Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine told supporters in North Carolina on Thursday that voters can't allow Republican nominee Donald Trump to "insult our democracy" by not accepting the results of the presidential election.
The rally came a day after the third and final presidential debate between Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton in Las Vegas. During the debate, Trump declined to say whether he would accept the results of the election if he lost.
"I'll keep you in suspense," Trump told moderator Chris Wallace of Fox News.
Kaine criticized those comments Thursday in Charlotte.
"This is not a television show, this is not a reality show," he said. "This is about running a country. You gotta do better than that! You gotta do better than that!"
He also questioned why Trump won't acknowledge that Russia has been behind the hacking of several email accounts of Democratic officials.
"You won't defend American democracy, but you will defend Vladimir Putin on stage?" Kaine asked.
He said voters need to elect Clinton by a large margin, which he said would "send a resounding message" to other countries.
"Don't think you can come into our country and mess around with an American election � no way," Kaine said.
Kaine began his speech criticizing other Republicans in the state. He said the Charlotte City Council and Mayor Jennifer Roberts did the right thing when they expanded the city's nondiscrimination ordinance for gay, lesbian and transgender individuals.
"When Charlotte decided to step forward and protect people from discrimination, state government said we have to crack down," Kaine said. "I used to be a mayor. I didn't like a state cracking down on us."
He said the state's voters "aren't taking this lying down."
Kaine's rally coincided with the first day of early voting in the state. He told supporters that if Clinton wins North Carolina, Trump can't win the election.
"If we win North Carolina, we got this thing folks," Kaine said.
He said it has been a hard road for Clinton because "she's trying to do something for the first time," namely elect a female president.
"Here's my piece of advice ... . We're the underdog until we're the winner," he said."
At an early voting site, Kaine greeted Democratic volunteers, including 25 from the Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ civil rights group.
Among their partisan chants: "Madam ... President!"; "Tim ... Kaine!"; "NC ... Blue!"
The N.C. Republican Party released a statement on Kaine's visit to North Carolina this week.
"Tim Kaine's Old North State swing comes in the wake of new revelations indicating more corruption within the Clinton inner circle after emails showed an influential Clinton Foundation official convinced the campaign to accept big money raised by lobbyists representing foreign governments. As Tim Kaine talks to North Carolina voters, he should explain why corruption and conflicts of interest seem to follow the Clintons wherever they go."
