When Alex Vindman was first approached by state party officials in the spring of 2025 about running for the U.S. Senate in Florida, the retired lieutenant colonel told CBS Miami he found the idea interesting, but he had his reservations.

“I don’t want to be some sort of sacrificial player,” he told CBS Miami in May 2025. “I’d want to do something that actually is meaningful, because the costs are pretty high. Costs meaning being away from my daughter and being able to provide for my family.”

By the summer of 2025, Vindman had decided 2026 wasn’t the right time to run. He was still relatively new to the state, having moved to Florida in 2023, and his family was still dealing with the fallout of his being fired by Donald Trump after he had been the key witness against Trump in the president’s first impeachment.

But then, he said, he watched through the fall the chaos created by Trump – sending the National Guard into cities, the failure of Congress to provide any checks on his power, and finally the killings of Rene Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.

“I feel that this state and this country is headed in the wrong direction,” Vindman told CBS Miami’s Jim DeFede on Sunday’s Facing South Florida. “I feel like there is a crisis. We’re in the middle of a crisis in which people don’t feel safe in their homes, they don’t feel safe in their communities. Life in Florida is increasingly unaffordable.”

And so, he said, he decided to run and challenge Republican Ashley Moody.

“We need to make sure that ICE specifically is not masked, is not escalating, is properly trained, and is doing its law enforcement function,” he said. “Not abusing the population. My commitment is to provide that kind of oversight and not be a rubber stamp that Ashley Moody and so many other Republicans are signing onto. We need the system to work the way it’s designed – with a proper check on power on the executive branch from the legislative branch.”

In the first 24 hours after he entered the race, Vindman said he raised $1.7 million from more than 30,000 individual donors. CBS News Miami has learned that the total jumped to $3 million after seven days, with nearly 60,000 small-dollar donors.

Republicans went on the attack against Vindman, calling him a “carpetbagger and a grifter” who will be easily defeated in a state where there are 1.5 million more registered Republicans than there are Democrats. 

Jim DeFede:

Why do you think you’re better suited to represent the state of Florida than Ashley Moody, who grew up here?

Alex Vindman:

Well, I think Floridians expect somebody that will be in their corner, that’ll be a fighter for them and not just beholden to special interests and not an automatic yes vote for a party that she is representing. I think Floridians are looking for somebody that’s been a career public servant, like I have. [I have] served in postings overseas, served in combat, received a Purple Heart. I don’t think they’re looking for a career politician. They’re looking for somebody that will do what I have pledged to do, which is end the chaos, crush corruption, and cut costs. I think that that factor is much more important than any other factor. I think my biography probably speaks more to who I am, what I’ve delivered for this country, and what I’ll deliver for the state. That’s paramount.

Vindman said recent election results in Virginia, New Jersey, Texas and even Miami, made it clear Democratic voters are energized and that winning statewide in Florida is possible.

Jim DeFede: 

Has Donald Trump done anything that surprised you – that even you thought was beyond what he would do?

Alex Vindman: 

Yeah, I think the chaos and corruption is staggering.

Jim DeFede: 

When you talk about the corruption, you are talking about how he and his family have financially benefited from being in office.

Alex Vindman: 

I think so, but it’s really stealing from the poor to give to the rich and that’s not tolerable in our system. I think Floridians and Americans demand fairness and they need somebody that’s going to be a champion for fairness. And frankly, that’s that the one message I want to communicate – I want to be your fighter and to deliver for you, not for the ultra-wealthy and not for the political class.