of Virginia won reelection to his third term Tuesday, defeating .
Cao, a 25-year Navy veteran whose past political experience was limited to a promising but failed bid in 2022 for a blue-leaning northern Virginia U.S. House seat, faced an uphill battle in the race, according to political observers. The Commonwealth hasn鈥檛 elected a with the late John Warner, a centrist with an independent streak.
Kaine won by 16 percentage points. When he announced his reelection bid last year, he said and wasn鈥檛 taking anything for granted. He noted that 鈥淰irginians will vote for Republicans in statewide elections,鈥� as they did in 2021 .
there was a narrow path to victory for the GOP given Virginia鈥檚 moderate electorate, aversion to former President Donald Trump in the 2020 election and Kaine鈥檚 salience with voters.
鈥淭his is definitely an uphill climb for the Republican Party in this state, particularly with a candidate who could be more easily tied to Trump,鈥� Rebecca Bromley-Trujillo, a Christopher Newport University political science professor, told The Associated Press in June.
Cao scored Trump鈥檚 endorsement during a crowded Republican primary race. And the former president stated then that Cao would help stop inflation, secure the border and 鈥渄efend our always under siege Second Amendment.鈥�
In their only debate in October, everything from illegal immigration to tariffs on foreign goods, with each candidate sticking mostly to the tenets of their respective political parties.
Cao criticized COVID vaccine mandates for service members and the when asked about the military鈥檚 collective failure to recently meet recruiting goals. He also condemned diversity, equity and inclusion efforts at the debate in Norfolk, which is home to the nation鈥檚 largest Navy base.
鈥淲hen you鈥檙e using a drag queen to recruit for the Navy, that鈥檚 not the people we want,鈥� Cao said. 鈥淲hat we need is alpha males and alpha females who are going to rip out their own guts, eat them and ask for seconds. Those are the young men and women that are going to win wars.鈥�
Kaine, who is on the Senate Armed Services Committee, responded by saying that railing at DEI 鈥渋s a red herring,鈥� and the real challenge is informing more Americans about the benefits of the military when only about 1% of the population serves in the armed forces.
鈥淲e need to do a better job of talking about the GI Bill and other benefits as well as the tremendous leadership training that you get in the military,鈥� Kaine said.
Cao made a decent showing in 2022 in his race against Democratic U.S. Rep. Jennifer Wexton in blue-leaning northern Virginia. He lost by 6.5 percentage points in a district that Biden won two years earlier by 19 percentage points.
Kaine has won all of his statewide races, including as governor and technically as a vice presidential candidate in 2016, when he and Hillary Clinton carried the Commonwealth but lost the general election to Trump and Mike Pence.
Ben Finley, The Associated Press
