Kaine and Cao face off in only debate of campaign for US Senate seat from Virginia

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia and Republican challenger Hung Cao sparred over issues from illegal immigration to tariffs on foreign goods Wednesday in their only debate of the campaign.

The hourlong showdown at Norfolk State University mostly traced the contours of the nation’s political fault lines. But it also included matters that resonate in Virginia and the coastal city of Norfolk, which is home to the country’s largest Navy base.

Cao, a 25-year Navy veteran, criticized COVID vaccine mandates for service members and the chaotic troop withdrawal from Afghanistan when asked about the military’s collective failure to recently meet recruiting goals. He also criticized diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

“When you’re using a drag queen to recruit for the Navy, that’s not the people we want,” Cao said. “What 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.”

Kaine, who is on the Senate Armed Services Committee, responded by saying that railing at DEI “is a red herring” 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.

“We need to do a better job of talking about the G.I. Bill and other benefits as well as the tremendous leadership training that you get in the military,” Kaine said.

Another subject was former President Donald Trump’s proposal to place more tariffs on imported goods.

“What we need to do is not tax our industry here,” Cao said. “What we need to do is tax other countries bringing in goods.”

Kaine criticized Trump’s proposal.

“The Trump tariffs would be a massive tax that would cause prices on all of these items that are imported to go up,” Kaine said. “On that, I differ strongly from my opponent.”

Asked whether he would support mass deportation of undocumented immigrants, Cao did not answer directly but said: “If you came here illegally, you’ve basically screwed up the whole system.”

Cao, whose family fled Vietnam in the 1970s, said they waited seven years for their naturalization papers.

“You can’t jump the line,” Cao said. “I mean, you go to Costco and jump the line, what do you think is going to happen? You can’t come here and expect the American dream if you’re not willing to obey the American laws and embrace the American culture.”

Kaine said he has never supported amnesty for immigrants who are in the country illegally but mass deportation would “devastate the economy.”

Kaine also criticized Republicans and Trump for failing to pass stronger border security laws.

“We recently negotiated a very tough border deal that would have put a lot of resources on the border to stop illegal immigration,” Kaine said. “President Trump asked for Republicans to oppose it, even though it was supported by the border control union.”

With Kaine’s seat considered solidly Democratic, the race has not seen the kind of dead-heat polling as the national presidential contest or the high stakes drama of other Senate races such as those in Montana and Ohio, where Democratic incumbents face tough re-election bids.

Trump has endorsed Cao. And political scientists say his path to victory is narrow given Virginia’s moderate electorate, aversion to Trump in 2020 and Kaine’s salience with voters.

Kaine won his last race in 2018 by 16 percentage points, although he said he was preparing for a tough race this year. The most recent Republican from Virginia to hold a U.S. Senate seat was the late John Warner, a centrist with an independent streak who last won in 2002.

Republicans can still win statewide offices in Virginia, however: Glenn Youngkin was elected governor by two points in 2021, along with a Republican lieutenant governor and attorney general.

Ben Finley, The Associated Press