Democrat Jennifer Jenkins drops out of Florida US Senate race

Shauna Muckle, Tampa Bay Times on Jan 29, 2026

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Retired Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, the whistleblower who triggered President Donald Trump’s first impeachment in 2019, has already started clearing the field in the Democratic race to unseat Florida U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody.

Jennifer Jenkins, a fellow Democrat and former Brevard County School Board member who frequently sparred with Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration during her single term, announced Thursday that she is dropping out and endorsing Vindman. He announced his run Tuesday.

“Alex is building a campaign that is putting Florida back on the map, and I will do everything that I can to help him succeed,” Jenkins said in a video posted on X announcing her departure from the race.

Jenkins added that she’ll have a “major announcement” regarding her next steps in the coming days.

In September, Jenkins filed to run against U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody, who Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed to fill the seat left vacant when former Sen. Marco Rubio was confirmed as U.S. Secretary of State in early 2025.

Jenkins had raised less than $200,000 by Sept. 30. In the last week, state Sen. Angie Nixon and Vindman both joined the Democratic primary.

Neither have released official fundraising totals, but Vindman’s campaign announced it had raised more than $1.7 million in its first 24 hours.

Moody raised almost $1.9 million in the first three quarters of 2025, ending Sept. 30.

Born in Ukraine, Vindman was working for the National Security Council when he reported a phone call between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. During the call, the subject of the first impeachment, he said Trump pressured Zelenskyy to investigate the family of Joe Biden, then running for president.

He was fired from the National Security Council shortly after Trump’s acquittal by the Senate. He has since served as an adviser for VoteVets, which works to elect veterans to public office, and lives in Broward County.

Moody, who has Trump’s endorsement, is still the favorite to win the race. Republicans hold a registration advantage of some 1.4 million voters statewide.

But Sabato’s Crystal Ball, a political ratings newsletter run by the University of Virginia Center for Politics, shifted the Florida U.S. Senate race from “solid Republican” to “likely Republican” Thursday.

Vindman, at the very least, will help Democrats raise “a boatload of money,” wrote managing editor Kyle Kondik.

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(Times staff writer Ashley Borja contributed to this report.)