Virginia GOP congressional candidate Hung Cao will release a campaign advertisement later Wednesday highlighting his Special Operations record and revealing an endorsement from a retired superior officer.
Cao, who deployed to Afghanistan, Iraq, and Somalia during a 25-year Navy career, is running against Democratic Rep. Jennifer Wexton in Virginia’s Tenth District, which leans eight points towards the left. Although most elections analysts have labeled the seat solidly blue, an internal poll released by the Cao campaign on Monday showed the two nominees running within the margin of error. Wexton ended 38 years of Republican control over the seat after she defeated GOP Rep. Barbara Comstock in 2018.
“Hung Cao has absolutely served his nation with distinction as a naval officer. He was very committed to his leadership. Rising to the rank of captain and command is no easy feat,” retired Rear Admiral Frank Morneau says in the ad, obtained exclusively by the Daily Caller ahead of its release. Morneau was the Navy’s senior Explosive Ordinance Disposal officer, and Cao worked in EOD throughout his career.
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“I admired Hung, that he took the task at hand. His honesty, his loyalty, he understand the accountability of elected office. There’s going to be commitments made to the American way of life. Hung Cao is a good fit for Congress. He’s going to bring integrity to do the right thing,” Morneau continues.
More than 52,000 veterans live in the district, according to the 2020 Census, and both candidates have highlighted foreign policy and veterans’ issues in their campaigns. Cao has pledged to support increased military spending, while Wexton has highlighted her votes expanding medical care for military members who were exposed to burn pits overseas. (RELATED: GOP Candidate Explains Why He Thinks Joe Biden Is His ‘Greatest Campaign Manager’)
“It is one of the greatest honors of my life to have the support of Admiral Morneau, a man I have looked up to my entire career. We need to elect more veterans to Congress because they know the true value of service and commitment. We understand real sacrifice, similar to the sacrifices many families in the district have made under Biden’s broken economy. Career politicians and Washington insiders like Nancy Pelosi only serve to benefit themselves. This district needs a political outsider to help get our country back on track,” Cao said in a statement to the Daily Caller.
As the race has tightened, Wexton has begun bashing Cao as an extremist due to his opposition to abortion. Cao has repeatedly stated that he believes life begins at conception. RealClearPolitics shifted the race on Tuesday from “Likely Democrat” to “Lean Democrat.”
Cao responded to Wexton’s claims during their Oct. 2 debate, comparing Democratic allegations of GOP extremism to bipartisan allegations of Muslim extremism in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
“I fought and served this country. I bled for this country. And I’m being called an ‘extremist.’ I’ve served honorably for every American. I know lots of people that served with me didn’t agree with my politics. And its fine. I served them anyways. I served them as a commanding officer, and I served them in combat, to preserve life. And now I’m being called an ‘extremist,'” he said during the debate.