[Pinellas County, Florida]: The Republican congresswoman representing the Sunshine State’s 13th congressional district told RedState her campaign manager and the campaign manager’s father were part of the escalation of violence by Democrats in this highly contested House race.
“A male Whitney Fox supporter shook hands with her father at the Clearwater early polling location before getting physical with my female campaign manager and her father,” said Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, who won her seat in 2022, beating former Obama White House national security staffer Eric Lynn. Fox is the Democratic nominee and a political operative backed by Emily’s List.
“This comes weeks after her supporters doxed my home address online,” the congresswoman, who often campaigns with President Donald J. Trump, said.
“This violence is abhorrent and being caused by the rhetoric the media and my opponent is putting out,” Paulina Luna said. “This has yet to be condemned by my opponent or local liberal media that has been promoting her.”
The congresswoman said investigators have video of the assault.
“This was witnessed by dozens of people,” the Air Force veteran said.
“The Clearwater Police Department is reviewing footage,” she said.
On the Air Force’s birthday, of all days, Luna posted that the threats had become very serious.
“My office has received a very serious shooting threat,” she said. “This division and hate campaign against Republicans is going to get someone killed. I will not be threatened, intimidated, or bow down to those using violence as a means to push their agenda. We will win.”
Luna said she would not stop fighting for the people who elected her, but she did ask for support: “Please keep my family in your prayers. Hate has no place here.”
The shooting threat was confirmed by the St. Petersburg Police Department, and it came at roughly the same time as a Facebook user claiming to be Luna’s neighbor posted: “I know where she lives if anyone is interested in sending her a love letter or … something. She dwells right around the corner.”
Democrats target Paulina Luna with family smears
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee made Paulina Luna one of their top targets because this is her first reelection bid, and it was a seat held by former Florida governor Charlie Crist, who ran for governor in 2022.
Luna is a member of the House Freedom Caucus and the Second Amendment Caucus, and in the 2023 election for Speaker of the House, the congresswoman voted against California Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy.
In an Aug. 21 DCCC memorandum to “Interested Parties,” Chairwoman Suzan DelBene called Paulina Luna out for her family background, challenging whether her father was a Messianic Jew as she described and smearing her grandfather who was drafted in the Wehrmacht during the Second World War: “In fact, according to Luna’s uncle, her ‘paternal grandfather was a Nazi, having fought in the German army during World War II.’”
The National Socialists were Germany’s ruling party, but military draftees were not necessarily party members. The DCCC did not produce evidence that Luna’s grandfather was a Nazi.
DCCC’s attack memo came one month after a political operative impersonating Texas Republican Gov. Gregorg W. Abbott’s new chief of staff, Robert Black, reached out to Paulina Luna.
The faux-Black claimed Abbott wanted to talk to Paulina Luna about how to beat Fox: “Hearing from Dems, she raised a lot and has oppo.”
When the congresswoman did not respond, the faux-Black lashed out: “You are really clever, APL. But you’re going to lose. At least you still got your fake t—s.” Then: “Fake smile. Fake life. Fake Jewish person–If you were a real Jew, you wouldn’t be texting on the Sabbath.”
Polling shows Paulina Luna leading race:
The fight for the House of Representatives is a subplot in a presidential year, but with the GOP holding on to a 220-212 majority with three vacancies, Democrats are a six-seat pickup away from seizing control of the lower chamber.
A Club for Growth poll conducted Oct. 6 and Oct. 7 found that Luna led Fox with 51 percent of likely votes compared with 45 percent of likely voters supporting Fox.
This poll was roughly the same as the Club for Growth’s August poll has Luna leading Fox with a 48 percent to 43 percent margin.
The California native, who worked as a model before becoming active in conservative politics, is the cover girl for the current issue of Maxim, one of the few mainstream media outlets to endorse Trump.
Maxim releases November cover with Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna @realannapaulina. Read our exclusive interview: https://t.co/HhSdOfFWZg pic.twitter.com/Pjf7lfufeq
— Maxim (@MaximMag) November 1, 2024
Luna’s district encompasses nearly all of Pinellas County, the peninsula facing Tampa to the east and the Gulf of Mexico to the west. The district includes the Gulf Beaches, which were devastated by this fall’s back-to-back hurricanes Helene and Milton.
In 2022, Paulina Luna beat Lynn with 53 percent of the vote to 45 percent with a margin of nearly 30,000 votes.
