Trump-backed Navy veteran set to challenge Tim Kaine in Virginia
Hung Cao, a retired Navy Captain, has emerged victorious in the Republican primary for the Senate seat in Virginia, defeating four GOP counterparts. Securing 65.9% of the vote, Cao convincingly topped his nearest challengers, veteran Eddie Garcia and former congressional staffer Scott Parkinson. Additionally, he outpaced veterans Chuck Smith and lawyer-author Jonathan Emord. Key to his primary campaign success was Cao’s lead in fundraising and a significant endorsement from former President Donald Trump in late May. Hung Cao will now face the incumbent Democratic Senator Tim Kaine in the upcoming November election.
Retired Navy Capt. Hung Cao has won the Senate GOP primary in Virginia, beating out four other Republican rivals, and will take on incumbent Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) in November.
Cao won his GOP primary with 65.9% of the vote after the Associated Press called the race at 7:23 p.m. with 19% of the vote counted. Cao defeated veteran Eddie Garcia, who received 10.1% of the vote, and Scott Parkinson, a former congressional staffer for Ron DeSantis who received 9.5% of the vote. He also defeated veteran Chuck Smith and Jonathan Emord, an author and lawyer.
Cao, who had been the front-runner in fundraising, also received the coveted endorsement of former President Trump in late May in a post on Truth Social.
“A Combat Veteran and Highly Decorated Special Operations Officer, Hung Cao will be a tireless fighter to stop Inflation, grow our Economy, secure our Border, strongly support our Incredible Military/Vets and defend our always under siege Second Amendment,” Trump wrote.
Cao, who lost a congressional race to Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D-VA) by 6 percentage points two years ago, raised $2 million to challenge Kaine, which includes $811,511 in the last quarter.
Cao came to the U.S. as a refugee in 1975 from Vietnam and was later commissioned into the Navy as a special operations officer, retiring as a captain. In a campaign video, he compares Vietnam’s communist regime during the Cold War to today’s Biden administration.
“We are losing our country,” Cao says in the ad, blaming Biden for criminal cases moving forward against Trump. “You know it. But you also know that you can’t say it. We’re forced to say that wrong is right. We’re forced to lie.”
Cao will face Kaine in November, who is seeking a third term. He was running unopposed. Kaine previously served as Richmond’s mayor, Virginia’s governor, and as chairman of the Democratic National Committee. In 2016, Hillary Clinton selected him as her running mate during her unsuccessful bid for the White House.
The most recent Republican to hold a Senate seat in Virginia was John Warner, who won a seat in 2002. Kaine’s seat is listed as solidly Democratic by the Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, and Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia. Kaine won his last race in 2018 by 16 percentage points.
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