WOODBRIDGE, Va. (AP) — Eugene Vindman has never run for public office and is far from a household name, but his near-cult status among national Democratic activists as a figure in Donald Trump’s first impeachment has elevated him to a leading candidate in a key congressional race in Virginia.
Vindman’s ability to raise money outside the district gave him a seven-person primary advantage in Virginia’s 7th Congressional District, to the consternation of other candidates who paid their dues in state or local office before seeking a seat in Congress.
“He doesn’t understand the community. He is not very involved in the community. He has not been involved in the community as an advocate,” said Andrea Bailey, one of two Prince William County supervisors in the race.
The result has national implications in the battle for control of the US House of Representatives. It’s a messy district where incumbent Democrat Abigail Spanberger is giving up her seat to run for governor in 2025.
Vindman and his twin brother, Alex, were career military officers who gained some fame and respect from Democrats for expressing their concerns about Trump’s 2019 phone call to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in which Trump sought an investigation into Biden and his son, Hunter.
Alex Vindman was listening to the call in his role as a National Security Council staffer assigned to the White House when he became alarmed by what he heard. He approached his brother, Eugene, who at the time was an ethics lawyer at the NSC. Both Vindmans reported their concerns to superiors, ultimately contributing to Trump’s impeachment.
Eugene Vindman said he thinks of his campaign for Congress as another avenue of public service after his military career. He wasn’t sure whether the name recognition he’s had since impeachment would extend into the political world, but he said voters have accepted him so far.
“My theory was that people knew Alex and I for what we did. We’re identical twins, obviously, but they know there’s two of us out there. And they recognized us. We were often stopped by people. And so I thought there might be some support. I didn’t know what the level of support would be,” he said.
The field includes four current and former elected officials from Prince William County, a northern Virginia suburb that makes up more than a third of the district that stretches south through Fredericksburg and west past Culpeper. All four helped Democrats take control of a county where Republicans were highly competitive.
Bailey and Margaret Franklin serve on the county Board of Supervisors and Briana Sewell serves on the House of Delegates. Elizabeth Guzman unseated a Republican incumbent to serve multiple terms in the House of Delegates. Two others, military veterans Carl Bedell and Clifford Heinzer, did not previously hold positions.
As a general rule, candidates sought to distinguish themselves more through their experience and training than through any political differences.
“There’s not a lot of daylight between my colleagues here and I on the core issues,” Franklin said in a recent debate, highlighting her service as a Hill staffer before her election as county supervisor. “I understand how to work in the hallway and get things done. … You have to decide who can be most effective in representing your interests on day one.”
Sewell said her long-standing ties to the district, as someone who grew up in Prince William County and served as a political staffer in local and federal roles in addition to her service as a state delegate, set her apart.
“I’m a long-time Virgo. I literally live in my childhood home and I’m not afraid of it,” she said.
Vindman, in turn, defends his absence from local politics, noting that his status as an Army officer prohibited him from political activism.
“The people who are attracted to my campaign are attracted to the values I will bring to this work: the fact that I will fight for priorities, that I put a ready career on the line and lost my military career by standing up to Donald Trump. Trump,” he said.
Vindman said he expects “zero learning curve” due to his lack of political experience. But on a well-debated issue related to federal immigration policy, Vindman said he was unfamiliar.
In an interview, Vindman said he was unaware of the controversy that engulfed Prince William County during implementation of a federal immigration program, known as 287(g), which facilitated cooperation between local prisons and federal immigration authorities. The program ran in the county from 2007 to 2020.
Sewell, on the other hand, cited controversies not only over 287(g), but also ordinances defining how local authorities checked individuals’ immigration status, as issues that led her into politics.
“I was in high school in 2007 and 2008, when my peers didn’t feel safe going to school, their parents didn’t feel safe going to work, school or sporting events,” Sewell said.
Stephen Farnsworth, a professor of political science at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, said Vindman’s lack of political experience is offset by his national popularity among activists, who have donated massively to his campaign.
The $3.8 million Vindman raised is roughly four times the amount of the other six candidates combined, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.
“The money makes him a well-known figure, even if he is new to campaigning,” Farnsworth said.
Vindman’s military service is an advantage in a district with extensive military ties, while the other candidates “will fragment in several directions” with the part of the electorate that does not support him, he added.
Bailey, a military wife, said she understands that military officers have restrictions on political activities. But she said now that he’s out of the Army, he needs to dedicate time and work in the community before running for political office.
“Eugene Vindman needs to have the opportunity to get to know the community and the individuals who live there. He has been a great citizen,” she said. “But when you talk about being a leader and a representative of the United States, you need to have been able to build those relationships.”
