FLORIDA — Retired Lieutenant Colonel Alex Vindman announced a campaign for the U.S. Senate in Florida in January, challenging Republican incumbent Ashley Moody. Moody represents the Florida Senate seat previously held by Marco Rubio.
Vindman relocated to Florida in 2023. He immigrated to the U.S. from the Soviet Union in 1979 at age four. His father arrived in the U.S. at age 47 and supported the family by hauling furniture. He has a 15-year-old daughter. He served on combat tours in Iraq and at U.S. diplomatic posts in Kyiv and Moscow.
In 2019, Vindman served as the director for European affairs on the National Security Council. He listened to a 2019 phone call between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. He reported Trump's pressure campaign to withhold military aid from Ukraine in exchange for investigations into Joe Biden. Vindman testified as a witness during Trump's first impeachment trial in 2019. He was removed from the council in late 2019 and retired from the U.S. Army in 2020.
Trump referred to Vindman as human scum during a political dispute. Trump Jr. stated that Vindman's Senate prospect makes him nauseous. Musk stated that Vindman should be arrested for treason. Vindman's campaign used these political attacks from the three men in a fundraising initiative.
Regarding his military separation and current campaign, Vindman said, "I don't look backwards, and I don't have any regrets." In a campaign email, he wrote, "I've dealt with my share of so-called 'tough guys' like them. The ones who will bully you into thinking they're so strong — but it's just because they're so insecure. I'm not afraid of the likes of Donald Trump, Trump Jr., or Elon Musk."