WASHINGTON (AP) — A first-term Tea Party congressman is airing his opponent's mug shot from a drunken arrest in a blistering new campaign ad.
Rep. Allen West, a Florida Republican, is knocking Democrat Patrick Murphy for a college arrest outside a nightclub.
The ad imitates a spy movie and says on the night Murphy was arrested, West was preparing for deployment to war.
Murphy's campaign points out that West was reprimanded for his conduct in Iraq.
Known for his fiery political attacks, West is a top target for congressional Democrats. He's running in a competitive, redrawn district.
House Majority PAC, a Democratic group, released their own ad Friday. It's a greatest-hits reel of West's statements, including one in which he said about 80 House Democrats are Communists.
