Alex Vindman shares more of his campaign war chest to help Democrats in November

Vanquished Florida Democratic Senate candidate Alex Vindman is continuing to share some of his campaign fundraising largesse to help Democrats in this fall’s midterm election.

The retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel lost to Jacksonville state Rep. Angie Nixon last week in the Democratic primary by 12 percentage points, 56%-44%. It was considered a major upset, although there had been virtually no public opinion polls to gauge the competitiveness of the race.

Vindman geared his campaign toward Republican Sen. Ashley Moody in the fall and rarely mentioned Nixon on the campaign trail.  That’s the most basic explanation about why he ended with more than $7.2 million in cash on hand as of June 30.

He announced Friday that he was sending $250,000 to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and top U.S. Senate Democratic candidates, including Mary Peltola in Alaska, Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan, Sherrod Brown in Ohio, and Troy Jackson in Maine. He’d sent $400,000 to the Florida Democratic Party last week to help candidates across the Sunshine State, including Nixon.

“Voters across the country, especially here in Florida, know that nothing is more important than flipping the U.S. Senate,” Vindman said in a written statement. “The only way to cut costs for working families, root out corruption in D.C., and finally hold the Trump administration accountable is to deliver a Democratic majority this November. I am proud to invest in Florida and across the country to make sure Democrats win big on Election Day and up and down the ballot.”

Under federal law, Vindman has several options for handling the millions left in his campaign account. He can hold on to it for a future federal election, transfer it to the national or state Democratic Party, or donate it to other federal candidates.

If any of the donations he received were meant for the general election, those funds must be returned to donors within 60 days of the primary.