Can the GOP Win a Senate Seat in Virginia?

Undeterred by his failed bid for a House seat, Hung Cao considers jumping into an even tougher race.

By Audrey Fahlberg

Feb 4, 2023

Hung Cao campaigns for Congress in 2022. (Submitted photo)

One of the few Republican congressional candidates to lose in 2022 but still maintain a strong grassroots following is considering another run for the House in 2024—and maybe even a bid to unseat Democratic incumbent Sen. Tim Kaine.

Hung Cao, a Navy veteran, and Vietnamese refugee, didn’t win his 2022 race against Democratic Rep. Jennifer Wexton in Virginia’s newly redrawn 10th District. But after a surprise victory in Virginia’s GOP primary last spring, Cao mounted a stronger-than-expected campaign and became one of the top House GOP fundraisers in the country.

Winning the Northern Virginia suburb President Joe Biden carried by 18 points in 2020 was always going to be a challenge for a Republican. But Gov. Glenn Youngkin came within two points of winning it in 2021, giving Republicans hope that former GOP Rep. Barbara Comstock’s turf could flip red once more.

That hope wasn’t enough to carry Cao across the finish line: He lost by 6.6 points.

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