Retired Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman managed to blow $9 million trying to win the Democratic nomination for US Senate in Florida and still lost to a socialist — as records detail the squandered investments in pricey consultants, staff, and TV ads that didn’t even mention his opponent.
His July campaign finance report for his battle against Democratic Socialist of America convert and state Rep. Angie Nixon reveals the spending had no end: a bulging payroll of 18 staffers, $650,000 in ad buys, and $10,000 for a poll that his camp didn’t release.
“There was very little effort that I saw with him to generate news stories that show his grasp of local issues and understanding how to solve them with government,” said one Democratic operative, noting the transplant “never became Florida Vindman.”
Vindman, who was a Ukraine expert on the National Security Council, became a “resistance hero” for Democrats after testifying during President Trump’s first impeachment about his “perfect” phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
He hauled in nearly $2 million in the first 24 hours after launching his campaign in January — and had party leaders believing he could be a fundraising source and a draw for political crowds across the country.
In the Aug. 18, primary, Nixon won with roughly 56% to Vindman’s 44%.
Now he’s being called overconfident for sitting on so much cash while evidently taking his opponent for granted in a race the Cook Political Report rates as “solid Republican.”
Nixon trails GOP Sen. Ashley Moody, who was appointed to complete the term of Marco Rubio when he became Secretary of State, by 8 points in the latest pre-election University of North Florida poll.
But there’s also plenty of cash that he did spend, according to his campaign finance report.
That included $250,000 on “media advertising” July 24, $129,000 on direct mail July 16, $25,000 on consulting July 9, and $11,000 on polling on the same day. The same day featured a $400,000 ad buy and a $15,000 digital consulting charge with another $43,000 on consulting July 2, along with another $41,000 on direct mail July 1. He spent $16,000 on rent in July, and $38,000 in June.
Nixon, by contrast, raised only $975,000, and had spent only $710,000, as of her filing through the end of July
On Friday, Vindman cut a check for $250,000 to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, after giving $400,000 to the state party from leftover funds. “Voters across the country, especially here in Florida, know that nothing is more important than flipping the U.S. Senate,” he posted on X.
Trump called Vindman — a key figure in the first impeachment, which revolved around the president’s dealings with Ukraine and ended with an acquittal in February 2020, a “real treasonous creep” and called his defeat “the most gratifying loss” of the night.
