Alex Vindman, who testified against Trump during his first impeachment, enters Florida Senate race

A key figure in President Donald Trump’s first impeachment is running for the U.S. Senate in Florida as a Democrat

Alex Vindman, who testified against Trump during his first impeachment, enters Florida Senate raceBy STEVE PEOPLESAP National Political WriterThe Associated Press

Alex Vindman, who became a key player along with his twin brother in President Donald Trump’s first impeachment, announced on Tuesday that he is running for the U.S. Senate as a Democrat in Florida.

Vindman, an Army veteran, was serving on the National Security Council in 2019 when the Republican president pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to investigate Joe Biden, then a Democratic candidate. He and his brother, Eugene, a lawyer on the National Security Council, reported their concerns and sparked investigations.

Eugene Vindman now serves as a congressman from Virginia. If Alex Vindman clinches the Democratic nomination, he’ll challenge Republican Sen. Ashley Moody, a former state attorney general who was appointed to fill the seat vacated by Marco Rubio as he became secretary of state.

The winner of November’s special election will finish the last two years of Rubio’s term.

Vindman described Trump as a “wannabe tyrant” and federal immigration agents as “thug militias” in his announcement video, which features the recent killing of two U.S. citizens during the deportation campaign in Minnesota.

Vindman was forced out of the National Security Council and later retired from the Army after testifying against Trump during impeachment hearings. He said “this president unleashed a reign of terror and retribution, not just against me and my family but against all of us.”

He urged voters to “stand with me now to put a check on Donald Trump and the corrupt politicians who think your tax dollars are their personal piggybank.”

Vindman becomes the most prominent Democrat in the Florida Senate contest as the party tries to reclaim the Senate majority in this fall’s midterm elections.

Their task in Florida will not be easy. The onetime swing state, which is Trump’s legal residence, has swung decidedly red in recent years. A Democrat has not won a Senate seat there since 2012.

Still, Democrats are hopeful that Vindman’s fundraising prowess and the national political environment — including the backlash against Trump’s immigration crackdown and his lack of focus on the economy — gives them a chance.

Trump denied any wrongdoing when he was impeached, and he was acquitted by the Senate. He later was impeached over the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and again was acquitted.