In the months since Florida Gov. Rick Scott, a Republican, announced he’s running for Senate, he has already spent $8 million on advertising against his Democratic opponent, Sen. Bill Nelson. (Outside groups have spent another $4 million or so on his behalf.)
Polling is sparse, but one reason all surveys are close and the most recent one shows Scott in the lead has to be his unceasing and relentless release of new ads that define himself and attack Nelson. The attacks are all the more effective because they are not savage or cruel, but gentle and respectful. Scott is spending big early to subtly define Nelson as a party-line Democrat with no new ideas, and a career politician who has been in office far too long — er, deserves to retire in peace.
Here’s a nice example of the latter, released just minutes ago and apparently part of Scott’s new $2 million ad campaign. The interviewees in the ad damn Nelson with faint praise, saying he is “not a bad guy,” but add that he should really quit while he can with dignity, considering that he’s been in politics so long — “45 years,” or “a thousand years, and “started in politics in 1972.”
What’s perhaps most surprising about this race is how popular Scott has become. Go back to 2013 and he was trailing Democrat Charlie Crist by double digits in his re-election race, with a disapproval rating as high as 57 percent. He spent the next two years building himself right back up, won re-election, and today enjoys a 55 percent approval rating. Yes, his large personal fortune, which he’s been willing to spend on his political pursuits, is surely part of it. But someone that unpopuiar usually can’t just buy his way back to and maintain a stellar approval rating.
Whether it’s the recovering Florida economy or something else, Scott has really got people happy about his tenure in Florida. No one would have expected that a few years ago, and it might be the reason Nelson has been caught unaware by his candidacy.
