Orlando Sentinel

Incendiary former S. Fla. congressma­n may make a comeback in 2020 election

- By Anthony Man South Florida Sun Sentinel

West being talked about as possible candidate in Texas

Allen West, the former South Florida congressma­n who was beloved and hated for his verbal grenades, is being talked about as a possible 2020 candidate for Congress.

If he makes a political comeback, it wouldn’t be in his former South Florida home. It would be in Texas, where he moved in 2014, two years after Florida voters rejected him.

West, a former Army lieutenant colonel, burst on the political scene and rode the tea party wave to victory in 2010, defeating Democratic U.S. Rep. Ron Klein in a Broward-Palm Beach county district.

He quickly became known more for his incendiary rhetoric than legislatin­g. Hoping to win re-election in 2012, West moved to a district in northern Palm Beach, Martin and St. Lucie counties he thought would be more friendly, but he lost.

When he moved, he promised in a farewell message posted on his website that his followers should “rest assured, I will continue to make my voice heard.” He has remained outspoken.

— He was just elected to a second three-year term as a member of the national board of directors of the National Rifle Associatio­n. “I will tirelessly defend our Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms,” West wrote in a social media post Wednesday, adding “molon labe!” and a picture of him holding a weapon. The term is ancient Greek, meaning come and take them.

— Visiting Broward County for a 2017 Republican fundraiser, West said in an interview he would give President Donald Trump a “C” for his first eight months in office. He’s currently a supporter. “I seriously hope the progressiv­e socialist left continues their incessant blather because all it does is help ensure the reelection of @POTUS @realDonald­Trump,” West wrote Wednesday on Twitter.

— West tweeted support Wednesday for “Save Chick-fil-A Day” next week at the Texas Capitol, a response to San Antonio’s banning the chicken chain from the city’s airport over donations from the company to anti-gay

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