‘Self-made’: New ad tells Vern Buchanan’s rags to riches story

Many recognize Republican U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan as the powerful Florida representative who made a fortune in the private sector and is now the heavy frontrunner to be the next Ways & Means chairman.

What most people likely do not know is that before “making it big” Buchanan had to scrap and claw for everything he earned.

No longer.

In a gripping new campaign ad entitled “Self-Made,” a narrator walks viewers through the story of Buchanan’s blue-collar upbringing, everything from growing up as one of six children in a 900-square-foot home to delivering newspapers “just to put some extra change on the table.”

The two-minute commercial, produced by ad-maven Max Goodman and Stoneshill Productions, begins with a long shot of Buchanan walking from the U.S. Capitol with a stage-setting voiceover, “To appreciate how far he has come is to know where it all began.”

It then transitions to actual footage from Buchanan’s childhood street in Inkster, Mich., before showing photographs of his high school yearbook and from his service in the Air National Guard.

The second half of the ad focuses on Buchanan’s success story, capturing how he and his wife of 45 years started a business with “$1,500 and a dream.” It even shows newspaper footage of Buchanan talking all the way back then about the importance of the American Dream.

Buchanan is facing a Primary challenge from Republican Martin Hyde, a controversial candidate who has made headlines for verbally assaulting police officers and for calling supporters of former President Donald Trump “bigots.”

Buchanan qualified to run in Florida’s 16th Congressional District. As of the first quarter of the year, he boasts more than $1.5 million in cash on hand.

Meanwhile, the planets appear to be aligning for Buchanan to become one of the most powerful members of Congress. With the retirement of Texas Rep. Kevin Brady, Buchanan is in line to be the senior-most Republican on the House Ways & Means Committee. If Republicans recapture a majority in the House, Buchanan is seen as the front-runner to take over as committee chair.

While Buchanan’s new ad will undoubtedly surprise some of his constituents back home, it will likely do the same with some of his colleagues in Washington, D.C who only knew one side of his life story.