A Dale City resident who played a key role in President Donald Trump's first impeachment has become the first Democratic candidate to officially announce a campaign for Virginia's 7th Congressional District seat being vacated next year by Rep. Abigail Spanberger.

Former U.S. Army Col. Eugene Vindman announced his campaign Thursday morning. Vindman is also a former senior White House ethics official. In July 2019, his brother, Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, informed him that President Trump threatened to withhold U.S. military aid to Ukraine unless President Volodymyr Zelenskyy investigated Trump's political rival. The Vindmans reported the call up the chain of command, leading to Trump's impeachment.

“Soldiers are trained to run towards fire, no matter the personal cost. That’s why I’m running for Congress – to defend our nation against the clear and present danger of Donald Trump and the 147 members of Congress who voted to overthrow the will of the American people," Vindman said in a news release from his campaign. "We need leaders with honesty, experience and judgment.”

Vindman served in the Army for 25 years as a paratrooper, infantryman and JAG Corps attorney for U.S. Forces-Iraq. In 2018, he was assigned to the National Security Council in the White House, where he became the senior ethics official.

Spanberger, serving her third term in Congress, announced Monday she will not seek reelection next year but will instead seek the Democratic nomination for governor in 2025.

The 7th District consists of eastern Prince William, the city of Fredericksburg and all of King George, Stafford, Spotsylvania, Caroline, Culpeper, Orange, Greene and Madison counties, plus a handful of voters in Albemarle County. Prince William makes up the largest portion of the district, casting 79,000 of the 273,000 votes in the district in 2022 and is also the district's most Democratic area.

Former Del. Elizabeth Guzman indicated this week she plans to run for the seat. Other Democrats mentioned as potential candidates include state Sen. Jeremy McPike, state Sen.-elect Jennifer Carroll Foy, former Del. Hala Ayala and Prince William School Board Chair Babur Lateef.

Several Republicans have already announced campaigns for the seat, including former Special Forces soldier Derrick Anderson, Navy SEAL combat veteran Cameron Hamilton, former Marine Corps officer Jon Meyers and entrepreneur Bill Moher.

Vindman was born to a Jewish family in Soviet Ukraine during the Cold War. The USSR enforced structural discrimination, so when his mother died of cancer, his father fled, seeking a better future for his family. After a six-month journey, the family arrived in Brooklyn, N.Y., on Christmas Eve 1979 with $759, according to the release. His father earned $20 a day moving furniture while teaching himself English. All of his sons served in the military, which Vindman calls, “A good return on America’s investment in my family.”

“I want America to remain the land of opportunity, a refuge for families like mine, where hard work makes a difference, truth prevails, rights are protected and we are all free to be who we are and pursue our dreams," he added.

Vindman graduated from the State University of New York at Binghamton. He received a master of science degree from Central Michigan University, his law degree from the University of Georgia School of Law, and a masters in letters from the Judge Advocate General's Legal Center and School. He and his wife, Cindy, live in Dale City and have two children.

During his Army career, Vindman earned the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, six Meritorious Service Medals, one Joint Service Commendation Medal, three Army Commendation Medals and three Army Achievement Medals.