New ad for GOP Rep. Southerland spotlights female veteran

Rep. Steve Southerland (R-Fla.) has launched a pair of ads designed to showcase his support from local veterans and refute claims he is anti-women.

The congressman, facing a tough challenge from Democrat Gwen Graham, came under fire earlier this month for comments he made after being criticized for holding a men-only fundraiser.

{mosads}He shrugged off the criticism by comparing the event to a lingerie shower and boasting he lives in a house full of women, which landed him in even more hot water.

One of the 30-second spots, titled “False and Sad,” features Army Sgt. Kelly Stivers, who served in Desert Storm.

“There are critical issues facing our country: border crisis; homeland security; health care. We face war on many fronts,” she says. “For Gwen Graham to claim Steve Southerland has launched a war on women?  It’s false and it’s sad.”

“As a woman and a war veteran, I urge you to join me in supporting Steve Southerland for Congress,” Stivers adds.

In the other ad, Army Staff Sgt. Luke Murphy, who was struck by a roadside bomb during his second tour in Iraq, praises Southerland for the support he provided.

“Through tough times and 31 surgeries, Steve Southerland was there for me,” he says.

Murphy states that he was “raised to believe that integrity matters. That’s why Gwen Graham’s false attacks against Steve are so shameful.”

Murphy doesn’t cit any specific attack by the Democratic challenger.

“Veterans like me support Steve Southerland because Steve Southerland supports veterans like me,” Murphy says.

The commercials will air in the Tallahassee and Panama City markets, according to Southerland’s campaign.

UPDATED AT 8:14 p.m.: The Graham campaign responded to the ads by putting out a statement from U.S. Navy veteran Carl Roberts.

“Congressman Southerland can run as many deceptive ads as he wants, but veterans know the truth about his record of putting his dysfunctional Washington politics over North Florida’s veterans and military families,” according to Roberts, a Panama City resident.

He said that the incumbent had voted against against funding to reduce the Veterans Affairs Department backlog and suicide prevention programs for veterans while voting for a “disastrous government shutdown” last year that delayed services.

Southerland “puts his own D.C. politics first – and his Washington Way is totally out of touch with the values that North Florida veterans believe in and have fought to defend,” Roberts said.