ORMOND BEACH — Alex Vindman, a U.S. Senate candidate in Florida, shared with an audience of about 100 one of the animating sources of his run: Ashley Moody.
The Republican former attorney general was appointed to replace Secretary of State Marco Rubio in 2021. And Moody’s campaign is centered on her endorsement by President Donald Trump.
“This is one of the things that really pisses me off about her. She voted nine times to give this administration a free pass for this absurd, foolish, dangerous war of choice in Iran,” Vindman said. “I’m hell no on these wars.”
Vindman, a Broward County resident, spoke to a crowd of about 100 Democrats at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Ormond Beach on July 6, after meeting privately with a group of seniors in a roundtable on affordability, healthcare and Social Security.
His more immediate race is the Aug. 18 Democratic primary, where he faces Angie Nixon, a Jacksonville state representative.
Alex Vindman, born in Ukraine, served in Pentagon
Vindman, who was born in Ukraine when it was part of the Soviet Union in 1975, suffered tragedy early when his mother died of cancer. He moved to the United States with his father and brothers four years later. He grew up in Brooklyn, went to college, participated in ROTC, and was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Army in 1999.
He was wounded while serving in Iraq in 2004, earning a Purple Heart. He was later sent to the U.S. embassies in Kyiv and Moscow before serving as the political-military affairs officer for Russia in the Pentagon.
Vindman’s 21-year career as an Army lieutenant colonel came to a close in 2020 after serving as a witness during President Donald Trump’s first impeachment trial. Vindman testified he was present during a phone call between Trump and newly elected Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and that Trump had inappropriately said he was withholding aid to Ukraine unless Zeleneskyy investigate Joe and Hunter Biden.
“Being forced out of the military, you get to make some choices, and I got a chance to choose where to live,” Vindman said. “And my wife wanted to get away from politics, so we moved to Florida.”
That line got laughs, and Vindman said running for office wasn’t part of his original plan. But he has seen how he and others’ notions of moving to Florida are not the reality.
“The dream here in Florida, whether that’s retirement, an affordable place to retire, a place to work and provide for your families, or young people to make their lives here,” he said, “that’s slipping out of reach.”
Vindman and his wife Rachel have a 15-year-old daughter in high school.
“For me, it’s personal, because I want to make sure that my daughter has rights,” Vindman said. “That she has rights … to find someplace she can afford to make her life, and that there are jobs here.”
He criticized Moody for taking $1 million in campaign contributions from “big insurance companies” when Florida has “the most expensive insurance rates in the country.”
As attorney general, Moody “didn’t hold their feet to the fire when they decided they didn’t want to pay claims. She didn’t challenge their rate increases. Why? Because she’s compromised.”
Why hasn’t Vindman agreed to debate his primary opponent?
In a brief interview with The News-Journal following the Ormond Beach event, Vindman referenced the challenges Democrats face in winning Florida. Nikki Fried was the last Democrat to win statewide when she became agriculture commissioner in 2018.
Vindman said he has not decided whether or not to debate Nixon before the Democratic primary.
“I’ve been laser-focused from Day One on the fact that I have diametrically opposing views with … Ashley Moody. … Every day she is in office she’s costing us money, here in Florida. … In a state that Democrats have had little luck winning statewide is, to me, all-consuming. That’s my target.”
What does Vindman say about ‘Medicare for All’?
In his public talk, he did not specifically support “Medicare for All,” a government-administered, single-payer healthcare system long championed by Sen. Bernie Sanders. Later, he told The News-Journal what kind of medical coverage he believes Americans should be able to access.
“We’re the wealthiest country in the world. We should not be living in a society where a single healthcare crisis is a financial death sentence,” he said.
He said he opposes the Trump administration “crushing Affordable Care Act subsidies,” cutting Medicaid, and jeopardizing healthcare access to millions.
“I’m thinking about whatever we call it — some of these terms are loaded — where we provide more high-quality healthcare to more Americans,” he said.
What do Vindman’s opponents say about affordability for seniors?
His Democratic primary opponent, Nixon, said in an interview she has met seniors both on the campaign trail and in her previous work as a lawmaker.
One that stood out to her is a 78-year-old woman delivering DoorDash meals to pay for own food and medicine.
“Medicare doesn’t cover everything,” Nixon said. “So she’s actually DoorDashing, and she’s on oxygen.”
That’s why Nixon said she supports a “Medicare for All” expansion, to make sure their prescription drugs and healthcare costs are covered.
“I’m proud to have fought for them day in and day out in the state Legislature, and been able to use my office to help them navigate through the different bureaucracies and bureaucratic holdups between the federal level as well as the state level,” Nixon told The News-Journal on July 6.
“We need to send bold fighters to Washington, D.C., who are actually going to work to deliver things like Medicare for All,” she said.
Nixon said she appreciates that Vindman is meeting with voters, but also criticized Vindman’s unwillingness to commit to a televised debate.
“I also believe that the people deserve to hear from the candidates on the same stage with different competing ideas,” Nixon said. “I look forward to Lt. Col. Vindman actually accepting my challenge to debate, so that folks can hear our competing ideas.”
Moody, did not respond to a request for comment.
Her website doesn’t detail any healthcare positions other than describing her as a “key supporter of President Trump’s agenda” who is “dedicated to America First policies that promote law and order, economic prosperity, and American sovereignty.”
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Florida Senate candidate discusses costs in Daytona Beach
Reporting by Mark Harper, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Mark Harper, Daytona Beach News-Journal | USA TODAY Network
