Image courtesy Hyde campaign.

Congressional candidate Martin Hyde isn’t done running against U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Sarasota.

Three months after video of a traffic stop went viral showing Hyde accosting a police officer and threatening her career, he’s decided to self-fund a video ad that visually alludes to the infamous incident. He filmed the ad in the same location where he was pulled over. The plan is that for the spot, Hyde looks into the camera at a familiar angle and asks, this time of potential voters, “Do you know who I am?”

“Part of the redemption process is not running away from this,” said Hyde, who said he felt humbled when video of his bad behavior drew millions of online views.

He hopes his campaign ad takes off and reaches similar zeitgeist. To some degree, he’s trying to turn a negative into a positive, but also sees a chance to rehabilitate a public image.

“I really am a fair and reasonable person,” Hyde said.

Hyde acknowledges his prospects remain slim at best. It always seemed an uphill battle to best Buchanan, one that seemed largely dashed when the incumbent landed the endorsement of former President Donald Trump.

Many of his critiques of the incumbent, though, remain the same. Hyde categorizes himself a staunch defender of the Second Amendment, but Buchanan voted in favor of background checks on firearm purchases.  The challenger also disagrees with Buchanan’s support of the Paris climate accords, and he said he would have objected to President Joe Biden’s electoral victory while Buchanan voted to certify the results.

Hyde hopes new videos will help him regain his political mojo. He’s also shot an ad based on Apple’s classic “I’m a Mac I’m a PC” series, only it will contrast Hyde as a conservative to a stereotypical liberal.

He’s also meeting with conservative groups, a few months after having some speaking gigs canceled amid the police video kerfuffle. He spoke to Manatee Patriots on Tuesday, where he joked with the conservative audience in Bradenton about the irony he had once advocated for body cameras to be used by police, only to have his bad behavior filmed at a low moment. 

He also made his case that he would be more connected to voters than Buchanan.

“You don’t have a representative of you right now,” he said. “You have a guy who flies in private jets… Vern Buchanan is not interested in you.”

Regardless, he said Buchanan's voting record by any metric has become more conservative since Hyde filed as a primary opponent, so that alone gives him some drive to continue.

Hyde said he does know enough not to ask people for donations. He will pay a $10,440 qualifying fee next month out of pocket, and intends to self-fund the race. But he hopes when all is said and done, voters see him as a passionate activist again and not just a belligerent driver. 

Image courtesy Hyde campaign.