An editor has nominated this article for deletion. You are welcome to participate in the deletion discussion, which will decide whether or not to retain it. |
Hung Cao | |
---|---|
Personal details | |
Born | Saigon, South Vietnam (now Vietnam) | August 3, 1971
Political party | Republican |
Spouse | April Lakata |
Education |
United States Naval Academy (
BS) Naval Postgraduate School ( MS) |
Website | Campaign website |
Military service | |
Allegiance | United States |
Branch/service | United States Navy |
Years of service | 1996–2021 |
Rank | Captain |
Battles/wars | |
Hung Cao (born August 3, 1971) is a Vietnamese-born American retired Navy captain and politician. He was the Republican nominee in the 2022 election to represent Virginia's 10th congressional district. [1] Cao is currently [update] a candidate in the upcoming 2024 United States Senate election in Virginia. [2] [3] After having won the Republican primary, he will challenge incumbent U.S. Senator Tim Kaine in the general election in November. [4]
Cao was born in Vietnam [5] and came to the United States as a refugee in 1975, [6] immigrating with his family to Reston, Virginia, after the Fall of Saigon that year. [7] After moving to West Africa for seven years where his father worked for an American agency, [6] Cao moved back to the United States with his mother and sisters when he was twelve. [6] [7] He graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in 1989 and received a B.S. in Ocean Engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1996. In 2008, he received an M.S. in Applied Physics from the Naval Postgraduate School. [8]
Following graduation from the Naval Academy in 1996, Cao served 25 years as a naval officer. [5] Trained in the Navy's Special Operations program, he salvaged planes and ships around the world from 1997 to 2013. [9] [10] As operations officer on the USS Grasp, he oversaw the naval recovery operation following the John F. Kennedy Jr. plane crash and dove to rig up the plane for retrieval. [9] He made multiple deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Somalia defusing bombs and conducting special operations missions. [3] [9] During the 2005 earthquake in Pakistan, Cao deployed as a part of a humanitarian mission. As a Navy commander, he commanded the Naval Diving and Salvage Training Center from 2013 to 2016. [10] [11] He was promoted to captain in 2018. [10] Before his retirement in 2021, he worked at the budget programming division of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations and as a division chief at the Defense Threat Reduction Agency. He has since become an executive at CACI International. [12]
Cao's first political campaign was his campaign in the 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in Virginia for Virginia's 10th congressional district. [5] In the Republican primary election, which took place on May 21, 2022, [5] and used a ranked choice system, he defeated ten other candidates and won roughly 52% of the vote in the ninth round. [13] He defeated Prince William Supervisor Jeanine Lawson by a margin of 52.3% to 33.8%. [6] [14] He faced incumbent Democrat Jennifer Wexton in the general election on November 8, 2022, and lost to her, 47% to 53%. [5] [15]
In 2023, Cao began a campaign for the 2024 United States Senate election in Virginia to challenge incumbent Senator Tim Kaine. [3] In the runup to the Republican primary election, Cao was the leading fundraiser in a field of five candidates, [16] and he received the endorsement of former president Donald Trump in May 2024. [17] When campaigning, Cao has drawn on his experience as an immigrant, [18] stating in an interview that "refugees like [me] are proof that freedom and independence are a fragile thread because I think Americans will never know how exiles feel when they have to living in a foreign land." [18] [a]
Cao opposes abortion and supported the overturn of Roe v. Wade. [5] He opposes gun control [3] [5] and affirmative action in university admissions. [3] More controversially, Cao has claimed that Wiccans have taken over parts of the country. Cao stated that Monterey, California, is "a very dark place now, a lot of witchcraft, and the Wiccan community has really taken over there," adding that "we can't let that happen in Virginia". [19] During the campaign, Cao blamed U. S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg for the partial collapse of the Maryland's Francis Scott Key Bridge after it was struck by a container ship, claiming that Buttigieg "spends more time talking about racial equity with regard to highways and about climate change than about focusing on the fundamentals of keeping our country and our infrastructure working." [20]
In February 2023, Cao had announced the formation of a PAC called Unleash America, with the PAC's goal being "to get Republicans elected" in the House of Delegates elections and State Senate elections in 2023. However, in April 2024, the Staunton-based publication The News Leader published an article claiming that none of the $103,489 raised by the PAC was spent on state house or state senate elections, but were instead spent on Cao's Senate bid. [21] Cao would respond by denouncing the article as a "hit job" by a "podunk local newspaper" that he claimed was run by "left-wing hacks." [22] In a virtual town hall hosted by the Fauquier County Republican Committee, Cao would also say that it would be "ridonkulous" and "crazy" for him to “drive six and a half hours down to Abingdon or something like that and to stand there with four other dudes and to have 30 seconds to answer questions." His comments have drawn backlash and accusations of being dismissive to rural portions of the commonwealth. [23]
He won the Republican primary on June 18, 2024, defeating four other candidates with over 60% of the vote. [4] Cao and his wife have coauthored a biographical and political book, Call Me An American, to be published in July 2024 with a foreword by Oliver North. [24]
Along with other fellow veterans, Cao founded Audible Eggs, [25] an organization that builds beeping Easter eggs for visually-impaired children. [26]
Cao and his wife April Lakata Cao have two sons and three daughters, one adopted from Thailand and a pair of twins, [18] [24] [27] all of whom were homeschooled by April. [24] The Caos live in Purcellville, Virginia, [27] and attend Cornerstone Chapel in Leesburg, Virginia. [28]
Cao's decorations, awards, and badges include, among others: [29]
2022 Virginia 10th district GOP firehouse primary [30] | |||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Candidate | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Round 5 | Round 6 | Round 7 | Round 8 | Round 9 | ||||||||||
Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | ||
Hung Cao | 6,363 | 42% | 6,379 | 42.1% | 6,393 | 42.2% | 6,471 | 42.8% | 6,562 | 43.5% | 6,672 | 44.4% | 6,998 | 46.6% | 7,238 | 48.7% | 7,729 | 52.3% | |
Jeanine Lawson | 4,373 | 28.9% | 4,382 | 30% | 4,390 | 29% | 4,433 | 29.3% | 4,503 | 29.8% | 4,564 | 30.4% | 4,693 | 31.2% | 4,800 | 32.3% | 5,000 | 33.8% | |
Brandon Michon | 1,538 | 10.2% | 1,551 | 10.2% | 1,555 | 10.3% | 1,588 | 10.5% | 1,612 | 10.7% | 1,614 | 10.7% | 1,733 | 11.5% | 1,854 | 12.5% | 2,052 | 13.9% | |
Mike Clancy | 719 | 4.7% | 721 | 4.8% | 724 | 4.8% | 739 | 4.9% | 764 | 5.1% | 794 | 6.3% | 876 | 5.8% | 979 | 6.6% | Eliminated | ||
Caleb Max | 621 | 4.1% | 623 | 4.1% | 627 | 4.1% | 646 | 4.3% | 678 | 4.5% | 707 | 4.7% | 727 | 4.8% | Eliminated | ||||
John Henley | 612 | 4% | 614 | 4.1% | 619 | 4.1% | 628 | 4.2% | 641 | 4.2% | 676 | 4.5% | Eliminated | ||||||
Dave Beckwith | 308 | 2% | 308 | 2% | 312 | 2.1% | 328 | 2.2% | 333 | 2.2% | Eliminated | ||||||||
Theresa Ellis | 259 | 1.7% | 262 | 1.7% | 276 | 1.8% | 285 | 1.9% | Eliminated | ||||||||||
John Beatty | 232 | 1.5% | 232 | 1.5% | 237 | 1.6% | Eliminated | ||||||||||||
Jeff Mayhugh | 64 | 0.4% | 66 | 0.4% | Eliminated | ||||||||||||||
Brooke Taylor | 56 | 0.4% | Eliminated |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Jennifer Wexton (incumbent) | 157,405 | 53.15% | -3.35% | |
Republican | Hung Cao | 138,163 | 46.65% | +3.25% | |
Write-in | 577 | 0.19% | +.09% | ||
Total votes | 296,145 | ||||
Democratic hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Hung Cao | 166,737 | 61.7% | |
Republican | Scott Parkinson | 29,623 | 11.0% | |
Republican | Eddie Garcia | 27,403 | 10.1% | |
Republican | Chuck Smith | 23,603 | 8.7% | |
Republican | Jonathan Emord | 22,909 | 8.5% | |
Total votes | 270,275 | 100.0% |
An editor has nominated this article for deletion. You are welcome to participate in the deletion discussion, which will decide whether or not to retain it. |
Hung Cao | |
---|---|
Personal details | |
Born | Saigon, South Vietnam (now Vietnam) | August 3, 1971
Political party | Republican |
Spouse | April Lakata |
Education |
United States Naval Academy (
BS) Naval Postgraduate School ( MS) |
Website | Campaign website |
Military service | |
Allegiance | United States |
Branch/service | United States Navy |
Years of service | 1996–2021 |
Rank | Captain |
Battles/wars | |
Hung Cao (born August 3, 1971) is a Vietnamese-born American retired Navy captain and politician. He was the Republican nominee in the 2022 election to represent Virginia's 10th congressional district. [1] Cao is currently [update] a candidate in the upcoming 2024 United States Senate election in Virginia. [2] [3] After having won the Republican primary, he will challenge incumbent U.S. Senator Tim Kaine in the general election in November. [4]
Cao was born in Vietnam [5] and came to the United States as a refugee in 1975, [6] immigrating with his family to Reston, Virginia, after the Fall of Saigon that year. [7] After moving to West Africa for seven years where his father worked for an American agency, [6] Cao moved back to the United States with his mother and sisters when he was twelve. [6] [7] He graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in 1989 and received a B.S. in Ocean Engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1996. In 2008, he received an M.S. in Applied Physics from the Naval Postgraduate School. [8]
Following graduation from the Naval Academy in 1996, Cao served 25 years as a naval officer. [5] Trained in the Navy's Special Operations program, he salvaged planes and ships around the world from 1997 to 2013. [9] [10] As operations officer on the USS Grasp, he oversaw the naval recovery operation following the John F. Kennedy Jr. plane crash and dove to rig up the plane for retrieval. [9] He made multiple deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Somalia defusing bombs and conducting special operations missions. [3] [9] During the 2005 earthquake in Pakistan, Cao deployed as a part of a humanitarian mission. As a Navy commander, he commanded the Naval Diving and Salvage Training Center from 2013 to 2016. [10] [11] He was promoted to captain in 2018. [10] Before his retirement in 2021, he worked at the budget programming division of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations and as a division chief at the Defense Threat Reduction Agency. He has since become an executive at CACI International. [12]
Cao's first political campaign was his campaign in the 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in Virginia for Virginia's 10th congressional district. [5] In the Republican primary election, which took place on May 21, 2022, [5] and used a ranked choice system, he defeated ten other candidates and won roughly 52% of the vote in the ninth round. [13] He defeated Prince William Supervisor Jeanine Lawson by a margin of 52.3% to 33.8%. [6] [14] He faced incumbent Democrat Jennifer Wexton in the general election on November 8, 2022, and lost to her, 47% to 53%. [5] [15]
In 2023, Cao began a campaign for the 2024 United States Senate election in Virginia to challenge incumbent Senator Tim Kaine. [3] In the runup to the Republican primary election, Cao was the leading fundraiser in a field of five candidates, [16] and he received the endorsement of former president Donald Trump in May 2024. [17] When campaigning, Cao has drawn on his experience as an immigrant, [18] stating in an interview that "refugees like [me] are proof that freedom and independence are a fragile thread because I think Americans will never know how exiles feel when they have to living in a foreign land." [18] [a]
Cao opposes abortion and supported the overturn of Roe v. Wade. [5] He opposes gun control [3] [5] and affirmative action in university admissions. [3] More controversially, Cao has claimed that Wiccans have taken over parts of the country. Cao stated that Monterey, California, is "a very dark place now, a lot of witchcraft, and the Wiccan community has really taken over there," adding that "we can't let that happen in Virginia". [19] During the campaign, Cao blamed U. S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg for the partial collapse of the Maryland's Francis Scott Key Bridge after it was struck by a container ship, claiming that Buttigieg "spends more time talking about racial equity with regard to highways and about climate change than about focusing on the fundamentals of keeping our country and our infrastructure working." [20]
In February 2023, Cao had announced the formation of a PAC called Unleash America, with the PAC's goal being "to get Republicans elected" in the House of Delegates elections and State Senate elections in 2023. However, in April 2024, the Staunton-based publication The News Leader published an article claiming that none of the $103,489 raised by the PAC was spent on state house or state senate elections, but were instead spent on Cao's Senate bid. [21] Cao would respond by denouncing the article as a "hit job" by a "podunk local newspaper" that he claimed was run by "left-wing hacks." [22] In a virtual town hall hosted by the Fauquier County Republican Committee, Cao would also say that it would be "ridonkulous" and "crazy" for him to “drive six and a half hours down to Abingdon or something like that and to stand there with four other dudes and to have 30 seconds to answer questions." His comments have drawn backlash and accusations of being dismissive to rural portions of the commonwealth. [23]
He won the Republican primary on June 18, 2024, defeating four other candidates with over 60% of the vote. [4] Cao and his wife have coauthored a biographical and political book, Call Me An American, to be published in July 2024 with a foreword by Oliver North. [24]
Along with other fellow veterans, Cao founded Audible Eggs, [25] an organization that builds beeping Easter eggs for visually-impaired children. [26]
Cao and his wife April Lakata Cao have two sons and three daughters, one adopted from Thailand and a pair of twins, [18] [24] [27] all of whom were homeschooled by April. [24] The Caos live in Purcellville, Virginia, [27] and attend Cornerstone Chapel in Leesburg, Virginia. [28]
Cao's decorations, awards, and badges include, among others: [29]
2022 Virginia 10th district GOP firehouse primary [30] | |||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Candidate | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Round 5 | Round 6 | Round 7 | Round 8 | Round 9 | ||||||||||
Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | ||
Hung Cao | 6,363 | 42% | 6,379 | 42.1% | 6,393 | 42.2% | 6,471 | 42.8% | 6,562 | 43.5% | 6,672 | 44.4% | 6,998 | 46.6% | 7,238 | 48.7% | 7,729 | 52.3% | |
Jeanine Lawson | 4,373 | 28.9% | 4,382 | 30% | 4,390 | 29% | 4,433 | 29.3% | 4,503 | 29.8% | 4,564 | 30.4% | 4,693 | 31.2% | 4,800 | 32.3% | 5,000 | 33.8% | |
Brandon Michon | 1,538 | 10.2% | 1,551 | 10.2% | 1,555 | 10.3% | 1,588 | 10.5% | 1,612 | 10.7% | 1,614 | 10.7% | 1,733 | 11.5% | 1,854 | 12.5% | 2,052 | 13.9% | |
Mike Clancy | 719 | 4.7% | 721 | 4.8% | 724 | 4.8% | 739 | 4.9% | 764 | 5.1% | 794 | 6.3% | 876 | 5.8% | 979 | 6.6% | Eliminated | ||
Caleb Max | 621 | 4.1% | 623 | 4.1% | 627 | 4.1% | 646 | 4.3% | 678 | 4.5% | 707 | 4.7% | 727 | 4.8% | Eliminated | ||||
John Henley | 612 | 4% | 614 | 4.1% | 619 | 4.1% | 628 | 4.2% | 641 | 4.2% | 676 | 4.5% | Eliminated | ||||||
Dave Beckwith | 308 | 2% | 308 | 2% | 312 | 2.1% | 328 | 2.2% | 333 | 2.2% | Eliminated | ||||||||
Theresa Ellis | 259 | 1.7% | 262 | 1.7% | 276 | 1.8% | 285 | 1.9% | Eliminated | ||||||||||
John Beatty | 232 | 1.5% | 232 | 1.5% | 237 | 1.6% | Eliminated | ||||||||||||
Jeff Mayhugh | 64 | 0.4% | 66 | 0.4% | Eliminated | ||||||||||||||
Brooke Taylor | 56 | 0.4% | Eliminated |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Jennifer Wexton (incumbent) | 157,405 | 53.15% | -3.35% | |
Republican | Hung Cao | 138,163 | 46.65% | +3.25% | |
Write-in | 577 | 0.19% | +.09% | ||
Total votes | 296,145 | ||||
Democratic hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Hung Cao | 166,737 | 61.7% | |
Republican | Scott Parkinson | 29,623 | 11.0% | |
Republican | Eddie Garcia | 27,403 | 10.1% | |
Republican | Chuck Smith | 23,603 | 8.7% | |
Republican | Jonathan Emord | 22,909 | 8.5% | |
Total votes | 270,275 | 100.0% |