Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) is out with a powerful new ad featuring a former soldier who credits West with saving his life while the two served in Iraq.
"When we got our orders to go to Iraq, my wife was eight months pregnant," retired Sgt. Robert Delgado says in the ad. "So it was a little nerve-racking not knowing, you know, 'Will I get to see my unborn child?' My commander was Lt. Col. Allen West, and he said, 'I'm going to make sure you come home to your wife and your newborn baby.' Before we went into Iraq, he gave me his body armor. We were driving with night-vision goggles.
"Well, this car came flying by and this AK-47 just starts firing. And I got shot. If I hadn't had that body armor, though, I don't think I'd really be here, because where it hit is where my lung was. Lt. Col. Allen West saved my life. It was just the greatest feeling in the world to hold my son for the first time. Col. West gave me his body armor. Because of that, I'm here today."
West is running in a tough swing district. The ad personalizes West and highlights his biggest campaign strength — his military service — in a way that could appeal to independent voters who might otherwise be turned off by his strident conservatism and past controversial statements.
