{"id":290472,"date":"2026-05-30T22:55:30","date_gmt":"2026-05-30T22:55:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/290472\/"},"modified":"2026-05-30T22:55:30","modified_gmt":"2026-05-30T22:55:30","slug":"why-a-trump-enemy-could-win-a-solid-republican-florida-senate-seat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/290472\/","title":{"rendered":"Why a Trump enemy could win a solid Republican Florida Senate seat"},"content":{"rendered":"

My mantra for November\u2019s election night is to \u201cexpect the unexpected<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nationally, President Trump\u2019s gloomy average job approval rating of 39 percent<\/a> is linked to rising gas prices. Meanwhile, in his adopted home state of Florida, his approval is 43 percent<\/a>, yet 70 percent<\/a> of Floridians say they are \u201cfalling behind\u201d the cost of living. These figures do not bode well for an easy Senate race, which is currently ranked<\/a> \u201csolid Republican\u201d but likely to tighten.<\/p>\n

In November 2024, Trump won Florida by a 13-point margin.<\/a> Now, the appointed incumbent, Sen. Ashley Moody (R-Fla.), must appease the state\u2019s irate electorate. Moody served as Florida\u2019s attorney general until Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) tapped her in January 2025<\/a> to fill the Senate seat vacated by Marco Rubio when named secretary of State.<\/p>\n

Last July, Trump gifted the MAGA-loyal Moody an early endorsement<\/a> to keep primary candidates at bay. As a Florida resident, I rarely hear Moody\u2019s name in national, state or local news, but the president can always count on her support<\/a>. Nonetheless, given anti-Trump fervor and a shocking recent poll<\/a>, Moody\u2019s fealty to Trump might be risky.<\/p>\n

Enter Retired Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman<\/a>, running as a Democrat and ready to challenge Moody. Yesterday, a Politico Playbook headline read \u201cThe next Senate race to watch\u201d after Vindman\u2019s optimistic internal polling<\/a> highlighted his strength and Moody\u2019s weaknesses.<\/p>\n

But first, the Aug. 18 Florida primary, where he is expected to defeat state Rep. Angie Nixon<\/a> (D). With recent momentum<\/a> from polling, Vindman has raised $8.1 million<\/a>, compared with Moody\u2019s $8.4 million.<\/p>\n

Fox News reported<\/a> that\u00a0\u201crecent polling suggests a competitive race between Moody and Vindman in right-leaning Florida.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Vindman versus Moody race pits a Trump \u201cyes-woman\u201d placeholder against an enemy of the president. Vindman suffered for what he believed was his patriotic duty. To his superiors, Vindman\u00a0reported President Trump\u2019s<\/a>\u00a0allegedly illegal demands made to Ukrainian President Volodymyr\u00a0Zelensky while he served on the National Security Council staff at the White House.<\/p>\n

Vindman, a Kyiv-born Ukrainian American citizen, was a decorated U.S. Army combat officer when Trump\u00a0unceremoniously fired him<\/a>\u00a0in February 2020. Wearing his uniform at Trump\u2019s first impeachment hearing, Vindman rose to fame as a whistleblower through his dramatic congressional testimony,<\/a> only to\u00a0lose his distinguished Army career.<\/a><\/p>\n

Vindman\u2019s unique story could resonate with voters as Trump\u00a0slides toward<\/a>\u00a0authoritarian rule, unleashing the Justice Department to reward\u00a0his allies<\/a> and\u00a0punish his enemies<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Florida is a\u00a0red state,<\/a>\u00a0but\u00a0Democrats<\/a>\u00a0have\u00a0recently prevailed<\/a>\u00a0in\u00a0several<\/a>\u00a0local races. For Vindman, the\u00a0voter registration data<\/a>\u00a0is both challenging and hopeful.<\/p>\n

There are 5.5 million registered Republicans \u2014 a misleading number since I am one of them, disenchanted with my\u00a0former party.<\/a>\u00a0Democrat registration lags at 4 million, while the 3.3 million no-party-affiliation voters, along with 481,000 minor-party registrations, will be decisive.<\/p>\n

About that voter registration and more, I contacted Senate candidate Vindman. He responded, writing,\u00a0\u201cI am running to represent all 23 million Floridians.\u201d I was impressed that he campaigned in the Villages \u2014 a Republican Mecca for older white voters, often the first stop for Republican presidential and statewide candidates.<\/p>\n

Vindman explained, \u201cWhen I say we are not just going to blue districts, but ruby red, too, I mean it \u2014 it\u2019s why I was in The Villages earlier this month, walking the line of people waiting to attend a Trump rally, connecting with registered Republicans who are also fed up with rising costs, corruption in D.C., and foolish wars of choice that are not just putting our service members\u2019 lives at risk, but causing costs to skyrocket for families who are already struggling to get by.\u201d<\/p>\n

When a Democratic Senate candidate is connecting with registered Republicans at a Trump rally in The Villages, sound the MAGA alarms.<\/p>\n

With Vindman\u2019s\u00a0new polling<\/a>\u00a0showing a statistically even race, I asked about Team Trump unleashing a shock-and-awe campaign against him and the worst message they could hammer home to Florida voters. He replied,\u00a0\u201cI am a 21-year combat veteran who has reported corruption at the highest level. Politicians have already thrown their worst at me, which is why Ashley Moody and her allies don\u2019t faze me. I am focused on delivering for my community, which means lowering costs and fighting corruption.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vindman also mentioned that \u201cwhile a sitting senator,\u201d one of Moody\u2019s \u201cfirst acts was\u00a0trading more than $2 million<\/a>\u00a0in stock while she had access to information only Congress has.\u201d Vindman\u2019s message strategically incorporates a recent poll in which\u00a095 percent<\/a>\u00a0of Florida voters say, \u201cPolitical corruption and unchecked money in politics is leading to higher costs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wounded by an IED during the Iraq War, Vindman has faced a\u00a0lifetime of challenges<\/a>, especially on the national stage. In 2023, Vindman moved his family to Florida and is now preparing for battle against Moody and Team Trump.<\/p>\n

Vindman is a fearless Trump enemy, so watch this race and expect the unexpected.<\/p>\n

Myra\u00a0Adams<\/a>\u00a0served on the creative team of two Republican presidential campaigns in 2004 and 2008.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.<\/p>\n

\u00a0For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"My mantra for November\u2019s election night is to \u201cexpect the unexpected.\u201d Nationally, President Trump\u2019s gloomy average job approval…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":290473,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[67241,3853,28,30,29,9105,4214,122792,122791],"class_list":["post-290472","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-alexander-vindman","tag-ashley-moody","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news","tag-president-trump","tag-senate","tag-team-trump","tag-trump-rally"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290472","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=290472"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290472\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/290473"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=290472"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=290472"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=290472"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}