Vindman Overcomes Criticism, Emerges as Democratic Nominee for Virginia’s 7th District

Eugene Vindman is the Democrat nominee for Congress in Virginia’s 7th Congressional District, which includes eastern Prince William, Stafford, and Spotsylvania counties, as well as Fredericksburg.

Vindman, of Dale City, ran a campaign solely to oppose Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for President. He and his twin brother Alexander Vindman were key figures in Trump’s first impeachment in 2020.

“The stakes of this election couldn’t be higher; the passion behind my campaign comes from voters wanting integrity, moderation, and professionalism in a government that works for them; and our grass-roots movement is coming for the extreme MAGA agenda,” Vindman wrote in a prepared statement sent to the press after declaring victory about 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 18.

Vindman cruised to victory over a sea of Democrat candidates vying for the nomination, winning nearly 50% of the vote in the district. He outraised them, too, raking in more than $5 million, mainly from out-of-state liberal donors who oppose Trump.

The only other Democrat who came close to matching Vindman’s cash was Andrea Bailey, a Prince William County Supervisor who raised nearly $340,000 during her campaign.

Vindman is primarily seen among Democrats as a community outsider and was criticized by fellow party members when he announced his campaign last fall.”I’m sorry – who is this? I’ve never seen this person in our area. At. All,” Delegate Joshua Cole of Fredericksburg posted to X shortly after Vindman announced his campaign.

Vindman beat a host of female Democrats, black and Hispanic, all seeking the nomination. Vindman was asked to step aside during candidate forums to allow “a woman and person of color” to win the nomination. Each time, Vindman assured Democrats he was the person for the job.

Familiar Democrats from Prince William County were candidates in Tuesday’s Primary. Elizabeth Guzman, a former state delegate, finished in second place, while Delegate Brianna Sewell, Woodbridge District Supervisor Margaret Franklin, and Bailey all failed to come close to Vindman’s vote totals.

The total number of votes received by the three losing candidates from Prince William County (15,764) is close to but still less than Vindman’s 16,609 total vote count. “[Prince William County] Dems now fumble the 7th twice in a row to outsiders when they have the votes to win,” wrote Ben Tribbett, a political commentator. Several Democrats from Prince William County, including State Senator Jeremey McPike and School Board Chair Dr. Babur Lateef, opted not to challenge Spanberger, who did not live in the district at the time of the election, during the last congressional election cycle in 2022.

Other candidates, Carl Bedell of Greene County and Clifford Heinzer of Stafford pulled in a combined 3.94% of the vote.

Criticism of Vindman continued Tuesday night, as fellow Democrats pointed to a report from The Independent, a newspaper based in the United Kingdom, that Vindman threatened to sue a reporter who asked him about his military rank at retirement. According to the report, Vindman claims to be a retired Army Colonel but holds the lesser rank of retired Lt. Colonel.

“This is so painful to watch,” wrote Ben Litchfield of Stafford County as the returns rolled in Tuesday night. Litchfield sought the Democratic Party nomination for a Virignia State Senate seat last year.

“As your Democratic nominee for VA-07, I will work tirelessly to hold this seat and ensure we can take back the house and continue to preserve this fragile experiment that is our democracy,” said Vindman.

Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D) holds the 7th District congressional seat. She’s not seeking re-election to Congress but is running for Virginia Governor in 2025.

Republicans chose Derrick Anderson as their nominee to face Vindman in the November General Election.