Senate Candidate Hung Cao Avoids Debates, Leaving Tim Kaine to Solo Forum Appearances

Virginia Senator Tim Kaine (D) expressed disappointment that his opponent, Hung Cao (R), declined to participate in three scheduled debates and forums. This continued a pattern observed during the GOP primary when Cao skipped 12 of 13 candidate forums.

In a press release, Kaine states that he remains committed to discussing his efforts to support Virginia’s economy, health care, reproductive rights, and military families in an upcoming debate in Norfolk on October 2. Potomac Local emailed the Hung Cao campaign for a comment and received no response.

Yesterday, Cao held a veterans event in Norfolk.

Early voting for the November 2024 General Election begins Friday, September 20, 2024.

Press release:

Last week, the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce/NBC4 and AARP had to cancel their respective Senate debate and forum because the Cao campaign informed them that he refused to participate. The Northern Virginia Chamber/NBC4 debate was originally scheduled for September 19, and the AARP forum was scheduled for September 13.

Michael Beyer, Communications Director for Kaine for Virginia, released the following statement in response:

“As is tradition, Senator Kaine accepted four invitations for debates and candidate forums in different regions of the Commonwealth. He is disappointed that his opponent has refused to participate in the first three. But he isn’t surprised—his opponent skipped 12 of 13 candidate forums during the GOP primary.

“Senator Kaine looks forward to appearing with his opponent in Norfolk on October 2 to talk about his record of standing up for Virginians and describing his ongoing work to create high-quality jobs, reduce health care costs, protect reproductive freedom, and support our military families and veterans.”

Last month, the Virginia Bar Association canceled their debate on July 20 because they were “unable to obtain a timely commitment to participate from the Cao campaign.”

Cao skipped 12 out of 13 candidate forums during the GOP primary, only attending a single forum in his home county. The list of GOP forums he skipped is as follows:

• Spotsylvania US Senate Candidate Forum – 2/25
• Virginia Beach Republican Women’s Club Candidate Forum – 2/27
• US Senate Candidate Forum, Virginia Beach – 3/16
• US Senate Candidate Forum – Immigration/Economy, Arlington – 3/18
• Virginia Beach Candidate Forum – 3/25
• Chasing Freedom Virginia National Security Forum, Arlington – 4/9
• Candidate Forum, Suffolk – 4/11
• US Senate Candidate Forum, Chesterfield – 4/20
• VA US Senate Republican Candidate Forum, Alexandria – 4/30
• US Senate Candidate Forum, Appomattox – 5/4
• US Senate Candidate Town Hall Forum, Chantilly – 5/11
• Virginia Republican US Senatorial Candidate Forum, Staunton – 5/17