In CD 7, Leo Valentin launches Spanish-language ad declaring he’s ‘one of us’
Screen shot from Leo Valentin campaign ad "Neustro Dr. Leo Valentin"

Leo Valentin
Ad blasts Rep. Stephanie Murphy for 'shipping jobs to China.'

Republican congressional candidate Dr. Leo Valentin is launching a new Spanish-language television spot slamming Democratic U.S. Rep Stephanie Murphy, and concluding that Valentin “is one of us.”

The commercial is the first from Valentin for his Nov. 3 General Election contest against Murphy for Florida’s 7th Congressional District. It’s not the first spot in which Valentin contrasts himself with Murphy however. He used that strategy to win the Republican primary in August.

The 30-second “Nuestro Dr. Leo Valentín” will be running on Orlando television and digital platforms.

The spot opens with unflattering images of Murphy as text and a narrator criticize her for sending jobs to China, an apparent reference to her husband’s sporting goods business, and for being relatively silent about the street protests in America that have turned violent.

“Meet Stephanie Murphy, the narrator begins. “Made millions by shipping jobs to China. Worse than ignoring workers from here? Murphy turned her back on the police and refuses to condemn the violent protests who threaten our communities. We deserve better than Stephanie Murphy.”

The images then turn to a smiling Valentin walking with his wife, meeting with patients, strolling what looks to be a hospital corridor, and then back with his family. Along the way the narrator references Valentin’s time as a hospital administrator in Puerto Rico before, during, and after Hurricane Maria, and his business running a radiology practice in Orlando.

“Our Dr. Leo Valentin. A doctor who helped Puerto Rico recover. A businessman who will help us lift the economy. Leo Valentin is one of us,” the narrator says.

CD 7 covers Seminole County and parts of central, northern, and eastern Orange County. The district has significant Hispanic populations, predominantly Puerto Rican, centered in southern Seminole County and eastern Orange County. Valentin is Puerto Rican. Murphy is Vietnamese-American.

Long held by Republicans, CD 7 went to Murphy in 2016 when she ousted 12-term Republican Rep. John Mica. She won reelection in 2018 over former state Rep, Mike Miller.

CD 7 voter registration has trended blue in recent years, with Democrats now holding about a 5-point advantage.

Scott Powers

Scott Powers is an Orlando-based political journalist with 30+ years’ experience, mostly at newspapers such as the Orlando Sentinel and the Columbus Dispatch. He covers local, state and federal politics and space news across much of Central Florida. His career earned numerous journalism awards for stories ranging from the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster to presidential elections to misplaced nuclear waste. He and his wife Connie have three grown children. Besides them, he’s into mystery and suspense books and movies, rock, blues, basketball, baseball, writing unpublished novels, and being amused. Email him at [email protected].


One comment

  • Sonja Fitch

    September 25, 2020 at 6:09 am

    A doctor that helped save Puerto Rico ought to Fing know the goptrump cult sociopath leader trump did his damndest to ignore the Puerto Rico disaster ! This dude is a fake! Vote Blue! Vote Democrat up and down ballot!

Comments are closed.


#FlaPol

Florida Politics is a statewide, new media platform covering campaigns, elections, government, policy, and lobbying in Florida. This platform and all of its content are owned by Extensive Enterprises Media.

Publisher: Peter Schorsch @PeterSchorschFL

Contributors & reporters: Phil Ammann, Drew Dixon, Roseanne Dunkelberger, A.G. Gancarski, Anne Geggis, Ryan Nicol, Jacob Ogles, Cole Pepper, Gray Rohrer, Jesse Scheckner, Christine Sexton, Drew Wilson, and Mike Wright.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @PeterSchorschFL
Phone: (727) 642-3162
Address: 204 37th Avenue North #182
St. Petersburg, Florida 33704




Sign up for Sunburn


Categories