Vindman endorses Mandela Barnes in Wisconsin Senate race

Retired Army Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman on Wednesday announced that he is throwing his support behind Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes (D) in the state’s Democratic Senate primary.

Vindman referred to incumbent Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) as an “extremist” in his endorsement of Barnes, which was first seen by The Hill.

“Our democracy is on the ballot in 2022,” Vindman said in a statement. “Mandela’s campaign to defeat Ron Johnson is not only going to be one of the most competitive races in the entire country. It is also a critical opportunity to unseat an extremist Republican incumbent who spreads disinformation, undermines U.S. national security, and threatens the future of our democracy. Mandela is our best chance to defeat Ron Johnson in November.”

Vindman previously served as the director of European affairs on the National Security Council during the Trump administration until February of 2020.

He garnered national attention in 2019 when he testified before Congress about a call between then-President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in which Trump pressed Zelensky to investigate then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden in exchange for military aid. His testimony led to Trump’s first impeachment trial.

Vindman, who fled Soviet-era Ukraine with his family when he was 3, has spoken out against who he has called “pro-Putin” Republicans in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

In an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in March, Vindman accused Johnson and other Republicans of having “blood on their hands” amid the Russia-Ukraine war. Vindman was responding to comments from Johnson after the invasion began, in which the senator accused Vindman of helping embolden Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“I’m certainly hoping that Colonel Vindman, [Rep.] Adam Schiff, [Speaker] Nancy Pelosi, who used Ukraine as a pawn in their impeachment trap scheme, are also recognizing and reflecting how they weakened Ukraine, weakened the West, weakened America by the divisive politics that they play,” Johnson told Fox News in February.

Vindman serves as a senior adviser to VoteVets, a progressive veterans group. Vindman endorsed Barnes in a personal capacity. In April, Vindman endorsed retired Adm. Mike Franken in Iowa’s Democratic Senate primary. Franken won the race on Tuesday.

Barnes is locked in a hotly contested Democratic primary in Wisconsin.

A Marquette University Law School poll from April showed Barnes at 19 percent support and Milwaukee Bucks executive Alex Lasry at 16 percent support. State Treasurer Sarah Godlewski and Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson came in at 7 percent and 5 percent support, respectively. That poll’s margin of error is plus or minus 4.1 percentage points.

The candidates are vying to take on Johnson in November. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates the race as a toss-up.