Hung Cao, the retired Navy captain who served with SEAL teams and U.S. Special Forces around the world after coming to the United States as a refugee from Vietnam in 1975, formally announced his campaign for U.S. Senate in Virginia on Tuesday morning.
Seeking to unseat incumbent Democrat Senator Tim Kaine, Cao looks to build on the gains he made for the Commonwealth's Republicans in his 2022 midterm bid for Congress in which he came up short against incumbent Rep. Jennifer Wexton in a widely watched matchup in Virginia's 10th district.
Cao, who was a member of the first graduating class from Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Virginia, returned to the Commonwealth after he and his family made more than a dozen moves around the globe and United States as part of his military career in explosive ordnance disposal and deep sea diving that saw service in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Somalia.
"After twenty-five years defending our nation around the world, I have seen our country take a dark turn," Cao remarked on the first day of his campaign. "Believe me when I tell you: if America fails, there's nowhere else to go. That's why I'm not done fighting for us," he explained.
"I have an obligation to fight back against those who want to control our lives and disrupt our families," Cao said of his run for U.S. Senate. "Virginia deserves real fighters - not politicians, not bureaucrats, not keyboard warriors," he emphasized. "That's why I'm running to be your United States Senator."
Cao released a video reflecting on his family's story living under Communist rule and fleeing Vietnam just before Saigon fell. "America saved my life," he says before going on the offensive against President Joe Biden and Democrats who have enabled the president's agenda that has undermined the rule of law, used bureaucracy as a weapon against conservatives, devastated border security, and endangered Americans.
After serving 25 years in the U.S. Navy, I recognize that our country has real problems and we need real fighters in Washington. I’m running for United States Senate because I’m not done fighting for us. pic.twitter.com/IYVmIh1V2c
— Hung Cao (@HungCao_VA) July 18, 2023
"We must refuse to be intimidated," says Cao of fight for America. "We must be fearless."
Hung Cao and his wife, April, now live in Purcellville with their five children.