Margaret Good, Vern Buchanan launch first campaign ad videos of 2020 election cycle
U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan and his Democratic challenger Margaret Good launched their first video ads of the 2020 election cycle Monday.
While Good’s first campaign ad focuses on a record of bipartisan solutions as a member of the Florida House, Buchanan’s first ad serves as a tribute to Nicholas Panipinto, an Army specialist from Bradenton who died in a military training accident last November.
Buchanan and Good are airing their advertisements online, and both will appear on television, too, but only Good’s campaign has purchased commercial space on local TV stations, according to the Federal Communications Commission records.
“The loss of a single American soldier is tragic and the continued loss of military service members in training accidents is entirely unacceptable,” Buchanan, who does not appear or speak in Monday’s 60-second ad, said in a prepared statement. “It has been an honor to work with Spc. Panipinto’s family as we fight to enact reforms to help save lives.”
Good represents the Sarasota area in the Florida House.
“In the Florida Legislature, I worked with both Democrats and Republicans to solve issues that are important to the people I serve and that’s what I will continue to do in Congress,” Good said in her own statement. “We need leaders in Congress who will do the hard work to get people back to work safely, to ensure people have access to affordable healthcare and to ensure that small businesses have the resources they need to recover and that is the work I look forward to doing.”
Panipinto’s parents star in Buchanan’s new advertisement, which will air on TV in the “immediate future,” his campaign manager said.
“I miss him every second of every day when nobody needs to feel this way,” said Kimblerly Weaver, Nicholas’ mother. “He should not be gone.”
“Thank God for Vern because I never really felt like the common person had a voice, until now,” said Anthony Panipinto, Nicholas’ father, who praised Buchanan’s actions.
In the wake of the fatal training accident, Buchanan, R-Longboat Key, filed a bill that requires emergency medical staff to be present during training activities. The bill found bipartisan support, and the U.S. House ultimately passed Buchanan’s amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act.
Good’s ad also references military service, noting that several of her family members served during World War I, World War II and the Vietnam War.
“When you’re the daughter of a pastor and a nurse, and your family has a history of service, you learn to fix problems, not complain about them,” Good says in her 30-second debut ad.
In a press release, Good’s campaign boasted putting out the first TV ad and her history of working across the aisle, citing a joint red tide town hall meeting with state Sen. Joe Gruters, R-Sarasota, and an effort to pass new stormwater regulations in Florida.
“Nothing is getting done because our politicians are more concerned with their party than the people that they serve,” Good said. “I’ll work with anyone who’s ready to get results, regardless of party.”
Buchanan and Good are running to represent Florida’s 16th Congressional District, which includes Manatee and parts of Sarasota and Hillsborough counties. They will face each other in the Nov. 3 general election.
