Virginia voters were left confused just days before the election as a Democratic congressional candidate is repeatedly confused with his famous identical twin brother.
Candidate Yevgeny ‘Eugene’ Vindman, who is running for Virginia’s 7th District, has often been confused on the campaign trail with his twin Alexander Vindman, known for testifying against Donald Trump in his first House impeachment trial.
Speaking to voters this week in Fredericksburg, Virginia, the Washington Post found dozens of voters who believed they were voting for the complaining brother.
One voter, Jerry Stokes, 81, had just shaken Eugene’s hand when he said he was impressed with his “immense strength and leadership” during the impeachment hearings in 2019.
When told that Eugene was not his complaining brother Alexander, Stokes said he was “wrong” and admitted that he even finds it difficult to tell the difference between his own twin sons.
Virginia congressional candidate Yevgeny ‘Eugene’ Vindman (right) has been repeatedly confused by voters with his brother, famed Trump impeachment whistleblower Alexander Vindman (left).
While Eugene Vindman (right) is not his whistleblowing brother, the two men have strikingly similar faces, voices and names, which has left some voters scratching their heads.
While Eugene Vindman is not his whistleblowing brother, the two men have strikingly similar faces, voices, and names, and Eugene also played a role in the Congressional hearings.
The twin brothers were working for the National Security Council (NSC) at the time when the House launched an impeachment inquiry into allegations that Trump had ordered Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will open an investigation into Joe Biden.
In a phone call overheard by Alexander, then head of European affairs at the NSC, Trump threatened to withhold military aid to Ukraine if Zelenskyy refused, prompting Vindman to report the conversation.
His brother Eugene, then an ethics attorney across the aisle from the NSC, helped his brother introduce the report up the food chain to Congress and prepare it for hearings.
Alexander’s testimony was seen across the country and his national profile grew, leading to his brother’s current electoral situation. After Trump was acquitted by the Senate, he fired both Vindman brothers from their roles on the National Security Council.
Vindman, photographed before his explosive testimony on Nov. 19, 2019, rose to national prominence in 2019 when he testified against President Donald Trump in his first impeachment hearings.
Vindman testified that then-President Donald Trump ordered Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to open an investigation into Joe Biden.
Candidate Eugene joked in a statement that “it would be difficult for voters to confuse (him with his brother) because I am unequivocally the better-looking twin.”
Now that Eugene is campaigning in Virginia, the Washington Post said he found at least eight voters at 10 of his campaign events who believed he was their older twin.
As in 2019, when Trump’s impeachment trial shook the nation, voters in Virginia were divided over whether this confusion was positive or negative for Vindman’s candidacy.
Real estate agent Elena Lane said she supported Vindman because “Trump lied and Mr. Vindman came and said, ‘That’s not true,'” adding that she “saw it on MSNBC.”
McKendree Fulks, a grain farmer, responded that, in his eyes, “many of the things he said at the hearings were lies.”
In a statement about his relationship with his whistleblowing brother, Eugene Vindman downplayed the issue just days before voters decided whether or not to elect him.
“It would be hard for voters to confuse us because I am unequivocally the better-looking twin,” he joked.
“My real brother knows that I am for what voters care about: abortion rights and against MAGA Project 2025.”
Vindman’s opponent, Republican Derrick Anderson (pictured), responded to claims that “it’s no surprise voters mistake him for his brother because he’s literally hiding from voters.”
Alexander has also notably joined his brother on the campaign trail several times, including tweeting about a day they spent together “touching every corner” of District 7.
‘He’s working hard!’ he said of his brother, along with smiling selfies they took together along the way.
Vindman faces Republican Derrick Anderson in a closely watched race for an open seat vacated by Democrat Abigail Spanberger, who is running for governor of Virginia.
Anderson took the opportunity to take a shot at his opponent when asked about the Vindman brothers’ confusion.
“It’s no surprise that voters confuse him with his brother because he’s literally hiding from voters: He’s dodged every TV debate and several local TV interviews,” campaign spokesman Riley Ploch said in a statement.
“He barely appears in his own fake TV ads.”
