Alexander Vindman launched a Democratic Senate campaign in Florida on Tuesday, catapulting himself back into the limelight after emerging as a key whistleblower in President Donald Trump’s first-term impeachment.
“The last time you saw me was here, swearing an oath to tell the truth about a president who broke his,” Vindman said in a launch video, referencing clips depicting his congressional testimony during Trump’s impeachment trial. “See, my family came here as refugees to escape tyranny, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to bow down to some wannabe tyrant.”
Vindman is seeking to oust Sen. Ashley Moody (R-FL), the former Florida attorney general who was appointed to fill Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s seat after he left Congress for the Cabinet position. It will be an uphill battle for Vindman, as Rubio cruised to victory in his last reelection campaign, winning the 2022 race by double digits.
Before launching his campaign this week, Vindman was known for the role he played in Trump’s 2019 impeachment. At the time, Vindman, whose family had fled to the U.S. as Jewish refugees from Ukraine when he was a three-year-old, was a lieutenant colonel and aide on the National Security Council.
I’m Alex Vindman and I’m running for the U.S. Senate. Chaos, corruption and sky-rocketing costs are crushing ordinary people, while the billionaires and career politicians profit.
I stepped up when my country needed a soldier, I reported corruption at the highest levels of… pic.twitter.com/AJhk13B6ZA
— Alexander S. Vindman
(@AVindman) January 27, 2026
Vindman came forward as a key whistleblower in the impeachment case, providing Democrats with possible evidence they could use to allege a phone call Trump made with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky violated the law. Vindman became a star witness in the trial, asserting Trump tried to pressure Zelensky into investigating former President Joe Biden and his son, as well as the 2016 election, on the call. Vindman’s brother, Eugene, a lawyer on the National Security Council, also played a key role in the investigation and later won a Virginia congressional race in 2024.
While he was impeached in the House, Trump was acquitted in the Senate and has denied any wrongdoing, calling it a “perfect” call.
Vindman was fired from his position on the National Security Council after testifying against Trump. He later blamed his retirement from the Army on the president as well, claiming he was forced to leave due to political backlash.
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The former lieutenant colonel is now running to finish the last two years of Rubio’s term. He is not alone in seeking to flip the seat.
Jennifer Jenkins, Hector Mujica, and Democratic state Rep. Angie Nixon are among others seeking to win the Democratic primary on Aug. 18.
