Republican Navy veteran Hung Cao launches challenge to Virginia Sen. Tim KaineCNN, Jul 18, 2023
Navy veteran Hung Cao, a Republican who lost a closer-than-expected race for a US House seat in Virginia last year, formally announced a challenge to Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine on Tuesday.
“We are losing our country,” Cao said in an announcement video. “I still believe America can be the land of opportunity. I have an obligation to fight back against those who want to control our lives and disrupt our families. We need real fighters, not politicians, not bureaucrats, not keyboard warriors acting tough in a custom-made suit.”
Cao ran against Democratic Rep. Jennifer Wexton last fall in Virginia’s blue-leaning 10th Congressional District, anchored in the suburbs of Washington, DC. He lost by 6 points in a redrawn seat that Joe Biden would have won by 18 points in 2020.
A retired Navy captain, Cao immigrated to the United States with his family as a refugee from Vietnam in 1975, according to his campaign website. He attended the United States Naval Academy and served in Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia. If elected to the Senate, Cao would be the first Vietnamese American senator.
Cao established himself on the trail last year as an opponent of gun control and abortion rights. He also focused on education issues, speaking out against classroom instruction on critical race theory and pandemic restrictions in schools, including mask mandates – issues Republican Glenn Younkin campaigned on in his successful gubernatorial win in 2021.
Recently, he has celebrated the Supreme Court’s decision to gut affirmative action in college admissions.
More:
https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/221104174241-va10-hung-cao.jpg?c=16x9&q=h_720,w_1280,c_fill/f_webp
