‘I owe everything to America’: Anna Paulina Luna drives fast in new ad, “Always”

Republican candidate Anna Paulina Luna has released a new commercial to boost her in the race against incumbent Charlie Crist for Florida’s 13th Congressional District.

The ad, which Luna posted to Twitter Tuesday night, is called “Always.” It features Luna speaking directly to the audience, while walking down an airplane runway and speeding off in a red sports car.

“Unlike the crooks in Congress, I’m not going to lie to your face and tell you what you want to hear,” Paulina says in the ad. “I survived poverty, shootings and gangs. I joined the Air-force and I owe everything to America. And now, I’m fiercely independent because of it all.”

https://twitter.com/realannapaulina/status/1305998020635484161?s=20

Before Luna speeds away, engine roaring, she says, “We may not always agree, but unlike these career politicians, I’ll always serve you, not myself.”

This ad highlights the anti-career politician rhetoric that Luna has been fueling her campaign with. Luna isn’t a run-of-the-mill politician, which is what the GOP is counting on to help her oust the incumbent. She is using what sets her apart to her advantage — she identifies with the traditional democratic base and urban communities in ways a lot of Republicans lack.

Following the release of Luna’s new ad, Democrat opponent Crist placed a new broadcast flight from Sept. 17 through Sept. 21, according to Delta Advertising Analytics. Crist has spent $43,325 in the Tampa media market.

Brad Herold and Something Else Strategies, the firm behind Marco Rubio, Ron DeSantis, and others, produced the ad.

“Anna Paulina Luna is a different kind of candidate who deserves a different kind of ad. She’s a veteran and an outsider with an incredible story. She’s not another career politician and this ad shows that,” Herold said.

After her nomination, Luna garnered national attention when President Donald Trump publicly endorsed her. This was a big win for Luna, a staunch Trump ally. Support from Trump could be a vital factor in Luna’s campaign.

The Republican nominee is the first formidable opponent Crist has faced since he was first elected to Congress in 2016 against then-Republican incumbent David Jolly.

From a recent St. Pete Polls survey, Crist has a 16-point lead over Republican challenger Luna.

Sixteen points is about the same margin of victory by which Crist defeated Republican George Buck in 2018.

The district was under GOP control for more than four decades before Crist nabbed it, thanks largely to redistricting that shifted the voter registration advantage to Democrats. Now, the party is anxious for a chance to win it back.