Yevgeny Vindman, a Democrat and former Army lieutenant colonel who was fired for his role as a whistle-blower in the first Trump impeachment, has defeated the Republican Derrick Anderson to win a competitive congressional seat in Central and Northern Virginia, according to The Associated Press. His victory keeps the district in Democratic hands, buoying the party’s hopes of winning the House majority.
Mr. Vindman, 49, who goes by Eugene, is a Soviet immigrant who worked as a legal adviser on the National Security Council. He came to national prominence in 2019 alongside his twin brother, Alexander, when the two gave whistle-blower accounts of President Donald J. Trump’s dealings with Ukraine that formed the basis of an impeachment case against him.
Mr. Vindman’s victory put him in line to succeed Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat and former intelligence officer who vacated the seat to run for governor.
The race pitted two Army veterans, both lawyers, against each other, and featured specialized pitches to the district’s large contingent of veterans and federal employees.
Mr. Anderson, a former Green Beret who was endorsed by Mr. Trump, tried to cast Mr. Vindman as an extreme liberal, citing his support for electric vehicle mandates. He also accused Mr. Vindman of being on a “revenge tour” for his firing from the government. Mr. Vindman, in turn, leaned on his impeachment back story in the race, arguing that democracy itself was at stake in the contest.
Mr. Vindman also tried to paint Mr. Anderson as an acolyte of Project 2025, the hard right’s sweeping plan for passing conservative policies and restructuring the federal government. He argued that the plan could jeopardize veterans’ benefits and federal workers’ job security.
Mr. Anderson repeatedly disavowed the project. And he insisted that he would not support a federal ban on abortion, rejecting a charge used by Mr. Vindman and many other Democrats in competitive campaigns this year to highlight Republicans’ opposition to abortion rights.
Mr. Vindman also criticized Mr. Anderson for campaign photos and videos that appeared to show him sitting around a dining table with his wife and three daughters — but turned out to be of the candidate with a female friend and her three daughters. Democrats accused Mr. Anderson of trying to peddle a “fake family” to voters and said he could not be trusted. Mr. Anderson, who is unmarried and has no children, said he had never claimed that those pictured were his family members.
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