Scott Powers
Calling it an advertising error, the Stephanie Murphy for Congress campaign backtracked Tuesday on a statement in a social media ad that she was the first Vietnamese American to serve in Congress.
Murphy, a Winter Park Park Democrat, became the first Vietnamese-American woman in Congress when she was elected in 2016. She has frequently and proudly cited that distinction throughout her career.
Her latest digital ad running since Friday on Facebook, however, omitted the “woman” modifier of that distinction, leading to objections that she might now be overplaying her honor.
One of those objecting is Republican former U.S. Rep. Anh “Joseph” Cao, who was elected from Louisiana’s 2nd Congressional District in 2008 and served one term.
Like Murphy, Cao was born in Saigon, Vietnam, and came to America as a child with family, after fleeing the communist regime on a refugee boat.
“She would be the first Vietnamese-American woman elected to Congress, but not the first Vietnamese American,” Cao said Tuesday from his law office in New Orleans. “That would be me.”
The National Republican Congressional Committee pounced, accusing Murphy of lying to voters.
Murphy’s campaign strongly disputed that, saying it was an error, not an intention to mislead, and that other advertising clearly stated “first Vietnamese-American woman.”
Murphy’s campaign Facebook ad on Monday included text reading, “This Woman’s History Month, we’re celebrating one of the strongest women we know — Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy. From being the first woman in her family to attend college to the first Vietnamese-American to serve in Congress, she’s been breaking ground since day one. Sign on to join her campaign today.”
Her campaign website refers to her more correctly as being the first Vietnamese-American woman to serve in Congress.
The incorrect post has since been removed.
A campaign spokeswoman said the ad has been corrected, and suggested that people should have read between the lines on it anyway and realized the ad was all about honoring first women.
“Since entering politics four years ago, Congresswoman Murphy has consistently referenced a key part of her historic election to Congress. She is the first Vietnamese-American woman elected to Congress — something she is particularly proud of given the rise in attacks against Asian Americans,” campaign spokeswoman Lauren Calmet said. “In a digital ad during Women’s History Month, after referencing the word woman four times, our campaign inadvertently omitted that word for the fifth time in a critical place. The error has been fixed.”
It’s not clear yet what Murphy will be running for in 2022. Officially she’s a candidate for reelection in Florida’s 7th Congressional District, serving Seminole County and parts of Orange County. However, she and her campaign staff have been testing waters for a 2022 run for the U.S. Senate seat held by Republican Sen. Marco Rubio.
Cao’s 2008 election, like Murphy’s first in 2016, was a major upset over a longtime incumbent in a district that normally leaned the other way. Cao had been a national activist with a Vietnamese-American civic and political organization called Boat People SOS. He said his election was widely celebrated in the Vietnamese-American community throughout the United States. He maintained his election helped set the stage for other Vietnamese Americans to be elected.
Cao said when Murphy won in 2016, he phoned her campaign, wishing to congratulate her.
“But she never called me back,” he said.
