Alex Vindman, who along with his twin brother became a key figure in President Donald Trump’s first impeachment, announced Tuesday that he will run for the U.S. Senate in Florida as a Democrat.
Vindman, an Army veteran, was serving on the National Security Council in 2019 when the Republican president pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate then-Democratic nominee Joe Biden. He and his brother Eugene, a National Security Council lawyer, reported their concerns and sparked an investigation.
Eugene Vindman now serves as a Virginia congressman. If Alex Vindman wins the Democratic nomination, he will challenge Republican Senator Ashley Moody. Moody is a former state attorney general who was appointed to fill the seat vacated by Marco Rubio when he became secretary of state.
The winner of November’s special election will serve out the final two years of Rubio’s term.
Vindman described Trump as a “wannabe tyrant” and federal immigration agents as a “thug militia” in his announcement video, which featured the recent killing of two U.S. citizens during a deportation operation in Minnesota.
Vindman was forced to resign from the National Security Council and later retired from the military after testifying against Trump during impeachment hearings. “This president has unleashed a reign of terror and revenge, not just against me and my family, but against all of us,” he said.
He urged voters to “stand with me now and put a check on Donald Trump and the corrupt politicians who think your tax dollars are their personal piggy bank.”
Vindman becomes the most prominent Democrat in Florida’s Senate race as the party attempts to regain the Senate majority in this fall’s midterm elections.
Their mission in Florida won’t be easy. The once swing state, where Trump legally resides, has shifted significantly red in recent years. Democrats haven’t won a Senate seat in the state since 2012.
Still, Democrats are hoping Vindman’s fundraising prowess and the national political climate — including strong opposition to Trump’s immigration crackdown and his lack of focus on the economy — will give them a chance.
Trump denied any wrongdoing when he was impeached and was acquitted by the Senate. He was later impeached and acquitted again over the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.