Army Lt. Col. (RET) Alex Vindman, the whistleblower at the center of the first impeachment of Donald Trump, will join a crowded Democratic primary field to challenge for the Senate seat relinquished by Sec. of State Marco Rubio.
Vindman was serving on the National Security Council in 2019 when Trump pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to investigate Joe Biden. Vindman and his brother Eugene (an attorney on the National Security Council) reported concerns that led to investigations ahead of Trump's 2020 presidential election loss to Joe Biden.
Eugene is currently serving Virginia in Congress. Republican Ashley Moody has been serving as Florida's junior Senator since being appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis following Rubio's resignation. Moody was the state attorney general at the time.
Vindman was born in Ukraine and immigrated to Brooklyn at the age of 3. He served 21 years in the Army and was wounded by an IED while serving in Iraq.
The crowded field of Democrats seeking the nomination includes state representative Angie Nixon, former Google exec Hector Mujica, and former Brevard County school board member Jennifer Jenkin.
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