California assemblyman Tim Donnelly performs Heimlich on choking supporter

Nov. 18 (UPI) -- The campaign for California Republican gubernatorial candidate Tim Donnelly got a little boost on Thursday when a video of him performing the Heimlich maneuver on a choking woman was posted online.

The video might give Assemblyman Donnelly’s campaign some new life and it certainly was beneficial to his supporter, Adrienna Schabert.

"He saved my life," Schabert said in the clip, which was posted to YouTube with the headline: "Assemblyman Donnelly to the rescue!"

Schabert, 50, was at a meeting for Republican women when she choked on a piece of her dinner roll.

"I couldn't get it out," she said. "I couldn't do anything, so I stood up ... He turned around and just went and did it."

Clad in a cowboy hat, Donnelly says, "Thank God,” in the clip and then adds, "I'm sorry if I did it too hard.”

"My wife is always telling me to cut it into really tiny pieces," Donnelly said, "and I never listen."

A political spokesman for Gov. Jerry Brown, Dan Newman, posted a link to the video on his Twitter account. Newman gave Donnelly "sincere props ... for knowing and using Heimlich maneuver to help choking woman."

Donnelly currently represents California's 33rd district, which includes the city of Barstow.

Here’s the video:

[The Sacramento Bee]