Democrat and ex-Trump official Eugene Vindman wins House race

The Democrat and former Trump administration official Eugene Vindman has won his House race against the Republican and former army green beret Derrick Anderson in Virginia’s seventh congressional district, representing a key victory for Democrats as they cling to the last glimmers of hope of regaining a majority in the lower chamber.

When the Associated Press called the race at 6.24pm ET on Wednesday, almost 24 hours after polls closed in Virginia, Vindman led Anderson by two points in the seventh district, which stretches from the exurbs of Washington DC to more rural counties in the western and central parts of the state.

With his victory sealed, Vindman will now go on to replace the Democratic congresswoman Abigail Spanberger, who chose to run for governor rather than seek re-election, when the new House is seated in January. Although the seat does not represent a pick-up for Democrats, Vindman’s defeat may have doomed the party’s broader prospects of winning the House, where Republicans currently hold a narrow majority.

Vindman first gained a national profile after he and his brother, Alexander Vindman, played a central role in Donald Trump’s first impeachment. The Vindman brothers, who both held senior roles on Trump’s national security council, were dismissed after raising concerns about the then president’s alleged efforts to pressure Ukraine into investigating Joe Biden and his son Hunter.

Vindman’s name recognition helped him build a powerful fundraising operation that propelled him to victory in a crowded Democratic primary and ultimately resulted in a win on Wednesday.

Even though his history with Trump boosted Vindman’s prospects as a first-time candidate for political office, he did not mention that record much on the campaign trail, instead focusing on issues like abortion access and the potential overhaul of the civil service if Republicans won full control of Congress.

“I was a military service member, but I empathize with the civil servants that are working hard every day on behalf of the American people, and they’re just doing their jobs and being demonized,” Vindman told the Guardian last month.

As a member of Congress, Vindman will now help fellow Democratic lawmakers serve as a check on the power of Trump, who was declared the winner of the presidential race early Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Anderson modeled his campaign strategy on that of Glenn Youngkin, the Republican governor of Virginia, by attempting to redirect voters’ attention away from the controversial rightwing manifesto Project 2025 and toward issues like immigration policy and the high inflation of Biden’s early presidency. But Anderson’s strategy fell short, as Virginia voters delivered a narrow victory for Vindman.

Despite Vindman’s success, Republicans still appear slightly favored to maintain control of the House. In the remaining uncalled races, Republicans hold a small but significant advantage. As of Wednesday evening, the AP had called 205 House races for Republicans and 190 for Democrats. The successful party will need 218 seats to secure a House majority.

If Republicans do maintain control of the House after already flipping control of the Senate, they will have sweeping power to implement Trump’s legislative agenda.