Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida announced a $3 million ad buy on Thursday, the largest of any 2024 Republican Senate candidate to date.
Scott, who defeated then-Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida in 2018 following a contentious recount battle, previously served two terms as governor of Florida, and he faces a challenge from former Democratic Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, who is the current frontrunner for the Democratic nomination. “The game is now rigged against hardworking Americans who still believe in this country, believe in God and the American values of hard work, patriotism and self-reliance,” Scott says in the ad.
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“If Ronald Reagan were here right now he would say ‘what in the hell have you guys done to my great country?’ Crime is rampant and goes unpunished, our border is wide open with criminals and drugs that kill our people,” Scott says in the one-minute ad. “Our debt is $32 trillion and climbing. Inflation’s growing faster than our wages; there’s a land war in Europe. We don’t make things in America anymore, we buy them from our enemies in China. We pulled out of Afghanistan like a bunch of cowards. We don’t know what a woman is and we think men can have babies.”
Scott, who served as the head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee for the 2022 election cycle, unsuccessfully challenged Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky to lead Senate Republicans after the GOP underperformed expectations of a nation-wide “red wave.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer recruited Mucarsel-Powell to run against Scott. Her primary opponent, Navy veteran Phil Ehr, announced he would drop out of the Senate race on Wednesday and instead challenge Republican Rep. Carlos Gimenez, who defeated Mucarsel-Powell in 2020, for the state’s 28th congressional district. Ehr is being endorsed by Mucarsel-Powell.
RealClearPolitics lists Florida as “leaning GOP,” despite not having any polls on the matchup between Scott and Mucarsel-Powell.
“The government pays people not to work and says no one has to pay their loans back,” Scott continued. “This is not a fight for the faint of heart, it’s not a fight for the weak. We are losing our country. It’s time to cowboy up and fight like hell to turn this country around. We can do it. Make no mistake we will do it.”
Harold Hutchison on October 19, 2023
