RICHMOND, Va. — Retired Navy combat veteran Hung Cao, who ran an energetic but unsuccessful campaign last year for a blue-leaning northern Virginia U.S. House seat, has set his sights on the U.S. Senate, announcing Tuesday that he's seeking the 2024 Republican nomination to challenge Democrat Tim Kaine.
A Vietnamese immigrant who spent 25 years in the Navy, including service in combat zones around the world, Cao pledged to be a “fighter” at a time when he said the country had taken a “dark turn.”
“We are losing our country. You know it. But you also know you can't say it. We're forced to say that wrong is right,” he said in a video announcement that took aim at President Joe Biden.
Cao will join an increasingly crowded field of Republican contenders — at least eight other candidates have filed paperwork — aiming to run next year against Kaine, who so far faces no primary opponent.
A fixture in Virginia politics, Kaine announced his plans to seek a third term in January after some speculation he might retire. His decision to run eased his party's worries about the possibility of an open seat. He will be seen as having an edge in the must-win race for Democrats facing a tough Senate map in 2024.
Although Virginia has been trending blue in recent decades, voters elected a slate of Republican statewide officials in 2021.
Kaine, who was Hillary Clinton's vice presidential running mate in 2016, has…
