Last November, Yevgeny (Eugene) Vindman announced he was running as a Democrat for Congress in Virginia's 7th Congressional District, an open and closely watched seat with Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger running for governor. His campaign was quickly off to a rough start, as his sister-in-law, Rachel Vindman, the wife of Alexander Vindman, had a particularly unhinged reaction to some skepticism from fellow Democrats. As we get closer to the June 18 primary, Vindman's campaign continues to flounder.
Earlier this month, footage of Vindman's participation in an Alpha Phi Alpha candidate forum surfaced in which Vindman stumbled through a response about being Jewish and an immigrant when asked, by another white man, if it was time for him, as a white man, to step aside for minority candidates, especially "considering we have so many strong women of color running for this seat."
Vindman's outsider status also came up, with the question adding how there's "so many local legislators" running, with the young man wanting to know "why would you make a better legislator than people who have lived in this district versus someone who doesn't."
Looking to "correct the record," Vindman pointed out he's lived in the district since 2016. He also brought up comments he himself acknowledged he had already shared earlier in the forum. "I'm an immigrant, and uh I'm Jewish, fleeing a bigoted communist regime, so I understand those perspectives."
He then went on to rant and rave against former and potentially future President Donald Trump, again repeating points he raised already, and would thus be "repetitive." He's also posted about Trump considerably. "I think that having someone who has stood up to Donald Trump, that has stood up to MAGA Republicans, that has been denounced for doing that, standing by their values, from the steps of the White House, is critically important." Transiting more into a generic campaign message rather than a specific answer to a question, he offered "I will work with people, and I have worked with people across the board and across the country, but I will never sacrifice my values."
Taking a considerable pause as he made his last point, Vindman said "and that's why, at this time, I feel like I'm the best candidate. Thank you for that question."
Other than Rachel Vindman's response form last November, the candidate himself has had a rough time during his campaign. Besides the response above to such a question, the Democratic candidate also posed with a Virginia flag from the Confederate era, and then dug an even deeper hole when he called for changing the flag. The event took place after he gave his keynote address at the Ukrainian Action Summit.
"Institutional racism continues to this day," his mea culpa claimed in part "While monuments have been coming down and roads glorifying traitors are being renamed around the commonwealth, we need to look at all symbols that represent this tragic history including our current banner which frankly too closely resembles the civil war version."
The replies and quoted reposts in response to Vindman's statement posted over his X account were none too kind, as many poked fun as well as called him out for his length of time as a Virginian. Among those taking notice included Republican Derrick Anderson, who is also running for the seat. The reaction was bipartisan though, as liberal political commentator Ben Tribbett also took notice.
Not good enough. You should suspend your campaign immediately as a sign of contrition. I bet you didn't even do a land acknowledgment before you spoke at that event!
— Nick Freitas (@NickJFreitas) April 17, 2024
The Commonwealth is my home - the place that raised me.
— Derrick Anderson (@DerrickforVA) April 16, 2024
Don’t dictate to Virginians to change our flag because of your massive mistake and disrespect. https://t.co/FhBa6NG9bu
Millions of out of state grifter money and he wants us to change the state flag because he campaigned with the confederate version. Is this all a Veep episode? https://t.co/9xwKxfappw
— Ben Tribbett (@notlarrysabato) April 16, 2024
While he may speak to his ties to the district, many of his fourth quarter donations came from outside of Virginia. Further, as VA Scope reported earlier this month, "The FEC asked Vindman to confirm he correctly itemized his campaign finance report," given that "[o]f the roughly $2 million raised by his campaign, $1.5 million was not itemized."
"An analysis of Vindman’s donations shows that he received more from California, New York, and Florida than from Virginia in 2023," the report also mentioned.
The seat is considered "Lean" or "Tilt Democratic" and has slightly favored Spanberger or even been a "Toss Up." Other Democrats running in the particularly crowded field include black and Hispanic women, including Margaret Franklin, Del. Briana Sewell, and former Del. Elizabeth Guzman. Spanberger campaigned before with Guzman when she herself was running for reelection, after Guzman gained notoriety for her plans to introduce a bill where parents could face abuse charges if they do not affirm their child's gender identity and sexual orientation.
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