EUGENE VINDMAN
Candidate for Congress, Virginia’s 7th District
Service: U.S. Army
I was born in Soviet Ukraine to a Jewish family during the height of the Cold War. When I was three years old, my mother died of cancer and my family fled from the bigoted, authoritarian regime.
We arrived in the United States as refugees on Christmas Eve, 1979, landing in sight of the Statue of Liberty. My father had $759 in his pocket and faith that America was the Land of Opportunity, where he could work hard and provide a good life for his family. He earned $20 a day moving furniture while learning English at night.
After graduating from public high school, I attended Binghamton University and enrolled in ROTC, eventually becoming a commissioned infantry officer in the U.S. Army. I met my brilliant and beautiful wife, Cindy, while in college, and we married shortly there after. She's been my partner ever since.
Like many immigrants, I was proud to join the military and serve my country, believing firmly in the ideals of America and the power of freedom. I spent 25 years serving all over the world, as a paratrooper, an infantryman, and after graduating from law school, as an officer in the JAG Corps. In Iraq, I served as a law-of-war advisor to the Commander of U.S. Forces, then as senior prosecutor at
Fort Hood, TX, the busiest jurisdiction in the world.
As with all military families, moving was never easy. Cindy had to choose our family over her professional career many times, and our children, Max and Madi, were often called “the new kids.” In 2016, I was assigned to the Pentagon, and we settled near family in Dale City, Virginia. Later, I joined the National Security Council as legal advisor where I focused on international partnerships, human rights and ethics, and eventually became the NSC’s senior ethics official in the White House.
On July 25, 2019, my brother, Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman, who also served on the NSC, came to my office with a look of grave concern. He just heard President Trump attempt to extort our ally, Ukraine, unless it investigated his political rival, Joe Biden. We reported the call up the chain of command, and the result was Trump's first impeachment. His vengeance cost us our careers.
Today, I’m not done serving. I have a new mission: To represent the people of Virginia’s 7th Congressional District.
While families struggle to pay for gas, groceries, and housing, MAGA Republicans fight among themselves, creating chaos and weakening our country. 147 of them refused to certify the 2020 presidential election, breaking their oath to the Constitution and declaring their allegiance to Donald Trump, not their country or the American people.
We need representatives who will work together and focus on the next generation rather than the next election. America must remain a refuge for families like mine, where hard work matters, truth prevails, rights are protected, and we are all free to be who we are and pursue our dreams in this land of opportunity.