Trump whistleblower Lt. Col. Alex Vindman runs for Senate in Florida

Jan. 27 (UPI) — Retired Lt. Col. Alex Vindman, who testified against President Donald Trump in his first impeachment trial in 2019, said he will run for Senate in Florida as a Democrat.

Vindman, 50, is running for the seat left by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Ashley Moody, R-Fla., a former state attorney general, was appointed to the seat by Gov. Ron DeSantis. The winner of the Democratic primary will face Moody in a special election this November, which will decide who will serve the final two years of Rubio’s term.

“They put Moody in the Senate to be a ‘yes’ vote for Trump and the billionaires. She’s not Florida’s senator. She’s theirs,” Vindman said in his campaign launch video.

Vindman touted his testimony in the video.

“The last time you saw me was here, swearing an oath to tell the truth about a president who broke his,” Vindman said in the video. “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 was born in Soviet Ukraine to Jewish parents and immigrated to the United States at age 3. He served 21 years as an Army officer and served as Director of European Affairs for the National Security Council.

Vindman testified in 2019 that he witnessed Trump on a call pressuring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate Joe Biden and his son Hunter. After the impeachment trial, Vindman and his twin brother retired Lt. Col. Yevgeny “Eugene” Vindman were removed from their jobs at the National Security Council. Eugene Vindman, a Democrat, is now serving in the U.S. House of Representatives representing Virginia.

“This president unleashed a reign of terror and retribution not just against me and my family, but against all of us,” Vindman said in the video. “Today, our country is in chaos. Thug militias attacking citizens. Tariffs pushing prices sky-high. Health care premiums through the roof.”

The video shows images of federal agents killing Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.

Democrats haven’t won a Senate election in the state since 2012, and Trump won Florida by 13 points in 2024.

The Democratic primary on Aug. 18 already has several candidates, including Jennifer Jenkins, Hector Mujica and state Rep. Angie Nixon.