Carlos Beruff campaign airs first TV ad Wednesday

MANATEE -- In the first television ad of his U.S. Senate campaign, Carlos Beruff claims that he is "no politician" as he makes his first bid for elected office.

A little more than a month after announcing his run, the 58-year-old Bradenton-area homebuilder is reaching out to a wider audience than those he has been addressing at generally conservative-friendly speaking en

gagements over the last few weeks. The ad is currently on YouTube and debuts on television statewide later this week.

At the start of the ad, titled "Forget Them," Beruff steps out of the background of a darkened studio wearing an open-collar shirt and jeans. Over background music that resembles portions of the theme from the Netflix hit series "House of Cards," Beruff criticizes Washington, D.C., political leaders in a quick succession of points.

"You know, I've had it," he says. "Politicians in Washington are useless. They waste our money, they make America weaker, and they refuse to secure our border. They're screwing up this country."

Beruff, a Republican, is a late entrant to the race for Sen. Marco Rubio's seat. He is competing against more than two dozen candidates, including U.S. Reps. Ron DeSantis, David Jolly, Patrick Murphy and Alan Grayson, Florida Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera and businessman Todd Wilcox.

A recent poll has also ranked former presidential candidate Ben Carson, who lives in Florida, as a front runner for the Senate seat.

Chris Hartline, the press secretary for the Beruff campaign, said the ad will premier on Wednesday. He said the commercial ad buy will be "significantly more than DeSantis' " side, although he would not say exactly how much money the campaign spent.

Beruff is running for elected office for the first time. But he has held numerous political appointments over the past several years at the behest of former Gov. Charlie Crist and current Florida Gov. Rick Scott.

He was appointed to the State College of Florida board of trustees in 2008 and again in 2012. He is currently president of the Sarasota Manatee Airport Authority. Scott also named Beruff to his Commission on Healthcare and Hospital Funding last May.

Matt M. Johnson, Herald business reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7027 or on Twitter @MattAtBradenton.

This story was originally published April 4, 2016 at 11:02 PM with the headline "Carlos Beruff campaign airs first TV ad Wednesday ."